Cape Town - ANC national executive committee member Bheki Cele challenged students at the Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute to take the lead in formulating a lasting solution to the language policy issue at the college, and at other institutions in the country.
Cele, who was at the college on Thursday at the invitation of the South African Students Congress, said his generation had paved the way for equality of the races, and that it was up to the youth to “shape the country as you want it”.
The college recently signed an agreement between its management and students after weeks of racial tension and violent protests on campus, which saw black and white students in conflict over the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
According to the agreement, classes have been split to accommodate Afrikaans and English speakers separately while a policy is developed.
Cele said the struggle for liberation was not easy, and that the youth should not lose the gains made but rather continue where the previous generation left off.
“The whole country is banking on you to do something about this language issue.”
Cele, also the deputy minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, called on the students to take agricultural studies seriously.
“We have a problem in this country where agriculture is in the hands of the minority. The minority is feeding the majority, that is why there is limited access to food. It is not an issue of availability, but of access,” he said.
Last week Weekend Argus reported that a joint technical task team had been established to identify an appropriate governance, academic and institutional model for the future functioning of agricultural colleges. The task team would advise the ministers of higher education and training, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries on how best to relocate agricultural colleges from the jurisdiction of provinces to national government.
Ideally, said Cele, colleges should maintain their practical training component.
Sasco students told Cele that they were disadvantaged in comparison to white Afrikaans speakers, as practical work was conducted on local farms where Afrikaans was used.
The students said they were being set up for failure through the use of Afrikaans.
Cele said he would make time to visit the college again in the near future, and that agricultural colleges would function best if they had their own farms where students were free to do practical work.
Weekend Argus