Cape Town - The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has found that Stellenbosch University (SU) violated the rights of Afrikaans speaking students with its English-only policy.
This is after the commission received a number of complaints in March 2021, including from the DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) , alleging that during the welcoming period at certain SU residences, students were compelled to only speak English.
According to the DA, the violations were repeated again during the 2023 welcoming period.
In its findings, the commission said that the university, through the residence policies, “unfairly violated the human rights of the affected students to freedom of expression; language and culture; equality and to not be discriminated against on the basis of language; and, human dignity”.
DA constituency head in Stellenbosch, Dr Leon Schreiber, welcomed the findings, saying that the original complaint was made after reports by several students who were prohibited from speaking any language other than English in their residences, in public spaces and even on park benches.
“The DA’s complaint came after DA leader John Steenhuisen and DA constituency head for Stellenbosch, Dr Leon Schreiber, met with Afrikaans students who had approached the party for help after being threatened with disciplinary action if they dared to speak their mother tongue in university residences,” said Schreiber.
FF+ chief spokesperson for arts and culture, Heloïse Denner, said: “The ruling by the commission on the complaint that the FF+ lodged, as first complainant, is a great victory for Afrikaans in general.”
The commission said that the university, through the office of the rector and vice-chancellor, should issue a written public apology to any students who were negatively affected by the residence policies.
The full story will be in the Cape Times today (Thursday).
Cape Times