Pretoria – Afrikaans-speaking university students should stand up for their right to be taught in their “mother tongue” language, AfriForum Youth said on Thursday.
“In the past, especially the last three months, Afrikaans has become a political punching bag. Unfortunately, Afrikaans students are now becoming targets. They are now saying all problems started because of Afrikaans and Afrikaans people,” AfriForum Youth spokesperson Ian Cameron said in Pretoria.
Late last year, Stellenbosch University, a traditionally Afrikaans institution, bowed to public pressure and said that in future all learning at the university would be facilitated in English.
Cameron said students had to play an active role in preserving their language and culture.
“Afrikaans is one of the official languages of South Africa. There is absolutely no reason why we, as an Afrikaans group, don’t deserve the same treatment as any other group in the country. We are here to build a nation and to make sure that everyone, all groups deserve and get equal recognition right across the country.”
Morné Mostert, AfriForum Youth National Coordinator, said his group would approach the courts to ensure that Afrikaans remained a language of instruction in universities.
“The last part of our five-point plan is for legal action. We have seen in the last few months different universities acting in a manner not only contrary to the Constitution but also to their language policy and plan. The manner that we will use to approach this problem is using legal action.”
He said at the Stellenbosch University, AfriForum Youth was already seeking an urgent court application “to ensure that the university stays within the bounds of their own (language) policy and plan”.
“We are going to use the courts as well, as a mechanism to make sure that not only Afrikaans, but mother tongue languages stay on campus,” said Mostert.
Afriforum Youth further called on students to withhold tuition fees until June as part of their demand to be taught in their “mother tongue” language.
“Why is our money good enough for you, but our language is not?” Cameron continued. “We are tired of being treated like political punching bags.”
Stellenbosch University decided late last year to amend its language policy to make English the main language of instruction on campus.
This came after pressure with students, mainly black and non-Afrikaans speakers, saying they were disadvantaged and discriminated against because of the language barrier.
The university said at the time it was committed to the further development of Afrikaans and isiXhosa as additional academic languages.
African News Agency
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