<div dir="ltr"><div class="" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0px;color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12.48px;line-height:14.976px"><h2 style="margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.1;font-family:'Droid Serif',serif;font-size:22px">ON THE WATER: Not the time to stand on our narrow group rights</h2><div class="" style="margin:0px 0px 5px;padding:0px;font-size:0.9em;text-transform:uppercase;color:rgb(119,119,119)">BY NEELS BLOM, NOVEMBER 02 2015, 05:54</div></div><div class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;float:none;clear:both;height:0px;font-size:0px;line-height:0;color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12.48px;line-height:14.976px;vertical-align:top;height:40px"><div style="margin:5px 0px 0px;padding:0px;float:left"><div id="shareBattons" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><div id="fb-root" class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;border-spacing:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);direction:ltr;font-family:'lucida grande',tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;font-size:11px;line-height:1;overflow:visible;word-spacing:normal;background:none"><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;overflow:hidden;height:0px;width:0px"><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"></div></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;overflow:hidden;height:0px;width:0px"><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"></div></div></div><div class="" style="margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;height:33px"><ul style="margin:0px;padding:0px;list-style:none"><li class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;list-style:none;float:left;overflow:hidden;width:84px"></li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;list-style:none;float:left;overflow:hidden;width:64px"><span class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;line-height:1;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;text-align:center"><span style="margin:0px!important;padding:0px!important;display:inline-block!important;vertical-align:baseline!important;font-size:1px!important"><span id="li_ui_li_gen_1446475686785_0" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;overflow:visible!important;display:block!important"><a id="li_ui_li_gen_1446475686785_0-link" style="color:rgb(55,88,112);width:33px;margin:0px!important;padding:0px!important;display:inline-block!important;height:20px!important;border:0px!important"><span id="li_ui_li_gen_1446475686785_0-logo" style="margin:0px!important;padding:0px!important;border-width:0px 1px 0px 0px!important;border-right-style:solid!important;border-right-color:rgb(6,96,148)!important;overflow:hidden!important;display:block!important;width:20px!important;height:20px!important;float:right!important;border-radius:2px!important;background-image:url(https://static.licdn.com/scds/common/u/images/apps/connect/sprites/sprite_connect_v14.png)!important;background-color:rgb(0,119,181)!important;background-repeat:no-repeat!important">in</span><span id="li_ui_li_gen_1446475686785_0-title" style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:1px!important;padding:0px 4px 0px 23px!important;color:rgb(255,255,255)!important;display:block!important;white-space:nowrap!important;float:left!important;vertical-align:top!important;overflow:hidden!important;height:18px!important;border:1px solid rgb(0,119,181)!important;line-height:20px!important;border-radius:2px!important;background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,rgb(0,119,181) 0%,rgb(0,119,181) 100%)!important;background-color:rgb(0,119,181)!important"><span id="li_ui_li_gen_1446475686785_0-mark" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;display:inline-block!important;width:0px!important;overflow:hidden!important"></span><span id="li_ui_li_gen_1446475686785_0-title-text" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:11px!important;font-family:Arial,sans-serif!important;font-weight:bold!important;display:inline-block!important;vertical-align:top!important;height:18px!important;float:none!important;background:none transparent!important">Share</span></span></a></span></span></span></li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;list-style:none;float:left;overflow:hidden;width:90px"><div class="" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;display:inline-block"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;display:inline-block;text-align:justify;vertical-align:bottom;width:86px;height:20px"></span></div></li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;list-style:none;float:left;overflow:hidden;width:65px"><div id="___plusone_0" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-style:none;float:none;line-height:normal;font-size:1px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;width:90px;height:20px;background:transparent"></div></li><li style="margin:0px;padding:0px;list-style:none;float:left;overflow:hidden;width:65px"><div class="" id="XSUa9kcC4TdBNAu8GMZ5YxRA5wKN" style="margin:0px;padding:3px;display:inline-block;font-size:11px;font-family:Arial;white-space:nowrap;line-height:1;border-radius:3px;border:thin solid rgb(204,204,204);color:black;background:url(https://d1xnn69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o increase spending on desperately needed developmental programmes.</p><p style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:'Droid Serif',serif;font-size:1.1em;line-height:1.4em;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px">As it is, South Africans between the ages 15 and 24 who are not in employment, education or training number between 2.5-million and 4.5-million. The International Labour Organisation puts that at 52% of young South Africans, which compares poorly internationally, notably against that of the sub-Saharan region’s 11.8%.</p><p style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:'Droid Serif',serif;font-size:1.1em;line-height:1.4em;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px">For perspective, SA’s numbers have accrued after a sustained period of economic growth, whereas international figures are based on data collected from a global economy in recession.</p><p style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:'Droid Serif',serif;font-size:1.1em;line-height:1.4em;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px">What we have brewing here is a perfect storm that has already been whipped up to a near-catastrophic velocity. If we don’t fix it soon, we may never get out of trouble. Obviously, no matter what, basic education has to be turned around, but even if we managed to introduce appropriate policies from today, it would take about 20 years to bear fruit as the next generation progresses to tertiary levels.</p><p style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:'Droid Serif',serif;font-size:1.1em;line-height:1.4em;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px">In the meantime, the only way the state will collect enough tax to pay for the long-term turnaround is to prepare university students and students in further education and training as well as we can. If that means language policy at all institutions, basic and higher, has to be changed, then that is what the government must do.</p><p style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:'Droid Serif',serif;font-size:1.1em;line-height:1.4em;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px">And if the change is to have any near-term effect, education at all levels will have to be in English. Most South Africans will resent such a policy and my fellow Afrikaans speakers will probably kick up the biggest fuss, but even if we don’t like it we have to accept that English is a world language and we need to play on the world stage. It is so that we all have a constitutional right to be educated in our own language, but this is no time to stand on our rights.</p><p style="color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:'Droid Serif',serif;font-size:1.1em;line-height:1.4em;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px">If SA is to survive and thrive, we the South African people have to rise above our narrow group interests.</p><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px"><font color="#444444" face="Droid Serif, serif"><span style="font-size:13.728px;line-height:19.2192px"><a href="http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2015/11/02/on-the-water-not-the-time-to-stand-on-our-narrow-group-rights">http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2015/11/02/on-the-water-not-the-time-to-stand-on-our-narrow-group-rights</a></span></font><br></p></div></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message.  A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well.  (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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