Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal |77 approach’65 taking into account the number of minority students seeking education in their language and the extent of the burden this puts on public resources.66 The right to education in s 75 of the Constitution arguably includes the right to be educated in the mother tongue. Another key provision in respect to language rights in education is s 62 of the Education Act.67 It presents a number of interesting insights. For instance, S 62 (1) of the Education Act provides that68 “... Subject to this section, all the three main languages of Zimbabwe, namely Shona, Ndebele and English, shall be taught on an equal-time basis in all schools up to form two level.” For Shona and Ndebele language speakers, this provision means mother tongue education up to form two level although there is no guarantee of mother tongue education for Shona and Ndebele speakers beyond form two. Only English is the dominant language taught up to tertiary level.69 Again, this provision elevates English, Shona and Ndebele above all other official languages and forces other language speakers to learn in English, Shona or Ndebele. However, in practice English Language is given more learning time as compared to Shona and Ndebele.70 Literature in English is taught as a separate subject while Shona/Ndebele language and literature are regarded as one subject and allocated far lesser teaching time notwithstanding that there is sufficient Shona and Ndebele material to teach. This creates the impression that indigenous languages are not as significant. Section 62(1) of the Education Act arguably discriminates against other official language speakers on the basis of language as envisaged by the constitutional provisions of ss 56(3) and 6 and are not 65 K Henrard op cit 10 at 260-261. 66 F de Varennes Language, Minorities & Human Rights (1996) 33. 67 Education Act, [Chapter 25:05] 68 [Chapter 25:05] Clause 1.1 of the Cultural policy of Zimbabwe obliges government to ‘... accord protection of mother tongue through usage during the first two years of formal schools.’ 69 SJ Hachipola A survey of the minority languages of Zimbabwe 1998. 70 Op cit note 69.