Cape Town – Ahead of a planned pro-Afrikaans protest at Stellenbosch University (SU) today, the Open Stellenbosch Collective says critically needed progressive steps at the institution may be reversed if action is not taken.
Afrikaans lobby group the DAK Network will today protest for the inclusion of Afrikaans as a language of instruction after SU announced that it was revising its language policy (2016) this year as part of the five-year revision cycle prescribed in the policy itself.
Interested parties have been invited to submit comments on the first draft of the revised policy up until Monday.
A second public participation process is planned for later this year.
While the DA has started a petition to reject the first draft of the policy, Afrikaans lobby group, the DAK Network said the language policy marginalised many Afrikaans people of colour.
The Network’s Danie van Wyk said: “We remind the university of the past, being humiliated by the apartheid policies that made it impossible (for people of colour) to be a student. Now we feel we are being excluded, this time by a language policy.
“Most people in the Western Cape are Afrikaans speaking, and we want to give students from (isolated rural areas) to study in their mother language.
“We are not saying it must be an Afrikaans institution, but there is a group of people in the Western Cape that will be negatively affected.”
He said the protest was limited to 250 people, with all Covid-19 protocols observed.
The Open Stellenbosch Collective in a statement called for the urgent support of alumni, students, academics and broader higher education stakeholders to submit comments.
“We must take a decisive stance that prioritises and protects access at Stellenbosch University, as a public South African institution.”
The current language policy was the outcome of a protracted campaign by students, academics and broader university stakeholders to ensure that the policy prioritised access, equal opportunity, and support for all students and staff at SU, the collective said.
“These efforts were met with opposition from conservative groups who sought to keep SU an exclusively Afrikaans-language university.
“These groups eventually took the university to the Constitutional Court to stop the implementation of the 2016 language policy.
“The decision by the Concourt was unanimous in support of the 2016 policy and that the 2014 policy (which held Afrikaans as the primary language) added exclusionary hurdles to higher education, particularly for black South Africans. “
“We urge all alumni and stakeholders to make their submissions to ensure that a more progressive language policy comes out of this process and that the gains, made at great cost, are protected.”
SU yesterday said it was informed of the march and would be receiving a memorandum from the organisers.
“SU acknowledges the right of South Africans to peaceful protest action.
“There is appreciation for the organisers liaising with the university and the Stellenbosch municipality on the applicable protocols.”
For more information on or to submit comments, visit: www.sun.ac.za/language
Cape Times