Paul Roos Gymnasium (PRG) hosted the first isiXhosa oratory competition by name of Masithethe! (“let’s talk”) on Saturday May 14.
The hosting of the competition followed discussions with ENSafrica (the official sponsor of PRG Forum) during which the need for the development of an isiXhosa oratory competition for high school learners was identified.
Thereafter a wide array of schools with isiXhosa as subject was invited to enter for the first competition of its kind in the Boland. According to the school, their vision for Masithethe! is to promote multi-language use in South Africa and to encourage learners to speak isiXhosa.
“PRG wants to provide a platform on which isiXhosa speakers of any level can inform, entertain and convince an audience.”
The school received 87 speech entries from eight schools from the Western Cape. These schools are Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof, Calling Academy, Grootte Schuur High School, Makapula Secondary School, Rhenish Girls’ High, St Cyprians High School, Kayamandi Secondary School and Paul Roos Gymnasium.
Teachers from participating schools who attended the Masithethe workshop volunteered as competition judges and two special judges from the University of Stellenbosch, Dr Zameka Sijadu (Faculty of African Language) and Dr Simthembile Xeketwana (Faculty of Education) judged the final round of the competition.
