Pretoria - Tensions that started last week at the University of Pretoria over the scrapping of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction have deepened into a crisis on Monday.
One group of protesting students insisted “#AfrikaansMustFall”, while their Afrikaans counterparts chanted, “Afrikaans sal bly (Afrikaans will stay)”.
Students were forced out of classes, which resulted in the university announcing the suspension of all academic activities until further notice.
#AfrikaansMustFall protesters clashed with Afrikaans-speaking students, who insisted that it was their right to be taught in Afrikaans. This right, they said, was being violated.
Afrikaans-speaking students created a human chain preventing the protesting students from moving further inside the university's Hatfield campus, which resulted in further chaos.
The university has also beefed up security personnel, which guards creating a human chain of their own to keep the two groups apart.
There was minimal police presence on the campus. After a brief clash, during which stones and bottles, were thrown, the protesting students gathered at the UP amphitheatre.
Pretoria News
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