SA university approves Afrikaans use despite protests

 South Africa’s Stellenbosch University has adopted a new language policy which approves the use of three languages for teaching and communication at the institution – English, Xhosa and Afrikaans.

There had been controversy surrounding the use of Afrikaans at the university after the South African Human Rights Commission announced the launch of a probe into allegations some students had been stopped from speaking Afrikaans at “welcome” events and “informal settings” at Stellenbosch.

The university just outside Cape Town had previously denied any language ban to South Africa’s News24.

After protests in 2015, the university management had decided to drop Afrikaans in teaching.

A viral video about the challenges and racism faced by black students, sparked the demonstrations six years ago.

It detailed how some struggled with lessons in Afrikaans, one of the main languages spoken by the country’s white minority.

But a 2016 policy on the institution’s website adopted a bilingual approach, stating: “Afrikaans and English are the languages of teaching and learning” for undergraduate modules.

On Thursday in response to the outcome of the university’s year-long review of its language policy, a spokesperson quoted in SABC news said the changes would be implemented in January.

“Through this policy, the university recommits itself to multilingualism by using the three official languages of the Western Cape, namely Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa,” Dr Leslie van Rooi said.

“Further the university, through its policy would like to enhance access and success as well as the idea of social cohesion even further on our campuses,” he continued.

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