“Ke Mang?”: Afrikaans Primary School Students in North West Melt Hearts Learning Setswana

• A North West primary school shared a video of their Grade 1 class answering questions in Setswana
• The Afrikaans school in Vryburg has been teaching learners the local language, and the results had many questioning whether the clip was real
• Mzansi shared their pride, saying the video gave them hope for the future of the country

A video shared on 1 April 2026 by Laerskool Stellaland Primary in Vryburg, North West, had South Africans stopping everything to watch. The school's Grade 1 Setswana teacher tested her young pupils on what they had been learning. She greeted the class in Setswana and asked each child questions in the language.

She asked them three things: what their name is, how old they are and what their favourite sport is. Each child answered in Setswana fluently.

Afrikaans pupils answer in Setswana

Laerskool Stellaland is an Afrikaans public primary school in Vryburg with around 525 learners and 24 teachers. Seeing its youngest pupils respond so naturally in Setswana, a language spoken widely across the North West Province, clearly meant a lot to the people watching. Many viewers admitted they themselves could not answer those same questions in the language.

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The questions the teacher asked were, "Leina la gago ke mang?" which means, what's your name. "O na le dingwaga di le kae?" which means how old you are. The third asked what sport they enjoy playing.

Watch the Facebook video below:

Mzansi praises Afrikaans pupils learning Setswana

The video drew thousands of reactions, with South Africans deeply moved by what they saw on Laerskool Stellaland Primary's Facebook page:

@Boitumelo Tumzangwana Nkwe wrote:

"Lovely country, South African children being together and loving each other. It was Nelson Mandela's dream to see our kids attending school together."

@Brilliant Modise said:

"Honestly, SA will be better in future because of things like this, this will keep unity."

@Nnanie Rosè Motaung added:

"At first I thought it's AI, then one kid got stuck, joh, le ba etsa hantle."

@Ellier Karelse asked:

"This is so wholesome, but why is rakabi rugby in Tswana?"

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@Maphoka Lekhooa praised:

"The most beautiful thing on the internet, well done."

@Kabo Matshetshe noted:

"Language plays a very significant role in social cohesion between different races, that's very progressive."

@Liyema Eriksen Rsa said:

"At least we know South Africa will be a better place in future, haele batswadi ba bone shem."

@Maitseo Seaparo Sibi cheered:

"Well done, Mati — bana ke di best hela, proud of you."

@Jova Malan joked:

"Helen Zille will think it's AI."

@Kele Mokgosi wrote:

"It warms the heart to see them learning Black languages, go a itumedisa."

More on SA teachers and school moments

• Briefly News recently reported on a young teacher who turned an English lesson into something her pupils will never forget.
• A Pretoria teacher was blindfolded by her own class and had no idea what was waiting for her on the other side, and the moment she found out left her speechless.
• Two Gauteng learners were fatally stabbed in separate incidents, sparking a wider conversation about safety in schools.

Source: Briefly News