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<h1 class="">Stellenbosch: Language & transition</h1>
<span id="spnDate" class="">2015-11-23 16:00</span>
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<h4 class=""><a href="http://www.news24.com/RelatedGalleryItemModal.aspx?type=video&id=f93025e7-0a42-456d-b168-1f3286c43ac5&iframe" id="lnkVideoTitle" class="">WATCH: Stellenbosch students simultaneously vandalise and clean-up statue on campus</a></h4>
<span class="">2015-11-21 08:27</span>
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<p>Students at the Stellenbosch University who continued
to vandalise a statue while others attempted to clean it up could face
disciplinary action, the university has said.<a id="lnkView" class="watch" href="http://www.news24.com/RelatedGalleryItemModal.aspx?type=video&id=f93025e7-0a42-456d-b168-1f3286c43ac5&iframe">WATCH</a></p>
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<ul><li class=""><a href="http://www.news24.com/Live/SouthAfrica/News/watch-stellenbosch-students-simultaneously-vandalise-and-clean-up-statue-on-campus-20151121">WATCH: Stellenbosch students simultaneously vandalise and clean-up statue on campus</a><span class="watch"><a href="http://www.news24.com/Live/SouthAfrica/News/watch-stellenbosch-students-simultaneously-vandalise-and-clean-up-statue-on-campus-20151121">watch</a></span></li><li class=""><a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/unanimous-support-for-maties-english-plan-src-20151120">Unanimous support for Maties English plan - SRC</a></li><li class=""><a href="http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/matie-students-may-face-disciplinary-after-defacing-statue-20151120">Matie students may face disciplinary after defacing statue</a></li></ul>
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<div class="" id="U340159687327eJF"><p>Last week Professor Wim de Villiers, rector and
vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University, leapt into the right side of SA
history when he announced bold plans to make English the main medium of
instruction at the university.</p><p>The long-overdue decision, which has been hailed
by many sections of society as a step in the right direction, is likely to have
been inspired by the pressure group Open Stellenbosch. </p><p>Whether by design or by
default, it is a decision that will give De Villiers a special place in the
history of the struggle for access to higher education for the historically
disadvantaged. However, not everyone is happy with the decision. Here’s what
commentators had to say: <br></p></div><div class="" style="text-align:center"><p><img alt=" " src="http://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/281/9fb10871c10b458db514d10315c7a8aa.jpg" style="max-width: 620px;"></p><div class=""><em>Students and Economic Freedom Fighters members mount a protest at
the Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch last month against the
institution’s language policy</em><br><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><em>PHOTO: Lulama Zenzile </em><br><br></div></div></div></div></div><p><strong></strong></p><p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;line-height:20px;white-space:nowrap">AGAINST</span><strong></strong></p><p><strong>The FW de Klerk Foundation</strong></p><p>The
foundation has taken note, with shock and disappointment, of the letter
and annexure of Professor Wim de Villiers to the senate of the
University of Stellenbosch. </p><p>The letter makes it clear that if the
rector’s proposals are approved by the university council on November
30, Afrikaans will no longer have an equal position with English at
Stellenbosch University. </p><p>So, after being assured only a few years
ago that Afrikaans would be the default language, and after assurances
last year that the language would enjoy equal status with English, it
now appears that Afrikaans is, for all practical purposes, on its way
out as a language of tuition. </p><p>Under these circumstances, we must ask what confidence we can place on any assurances by the university administration.</p><p>The
administration has evidently bowed to the demands of the Open
Stellenbosch movement – an organisation that apparently has a core
membership of fewer than 50 people. </p><p>It is incomprehensible that
the university administration should so easily have swept aside the
reasonable interests, concerns and rights of Afrikaans-speaking students
on the entirely unconstitutional grounds that English is now the only
acceptable language of access to education.</p><p><strong>Alana Bailey, deputy CEO of AfriForum</strong></p><p>The
Stellenbosch University statement is a testimony of extreme ideological
obligingness or serious ignorance, seeing as reference is made to ‘best
language policy practices’ that are allegedly emulated.</p><p>The
statement makes it clear the Stellenbosch University management cannot
even be trusted to maintain the partial presentation, but wants to make
an effort to further marginalise Afrikaans and discriminate even more
drastically against Afrikaans-speaking students.</p><p>It disappoints
that the university management is acting vigorously in reaction to Open
Stellenbosch’s unfounded allegations, but is disregarding the best
interests of basically half of the province’s residents, and is not even
interested in conversing with mainstream student institutions that are
advocating Afrikaans education, even excluding them from the arguments. </p><p>Last
week Professor Wim de Villiers, rector and vice-chancellor of
Stellenbosch University, leapt into the right side of SA history when he
announced bold plans to make English the main medium of instruction at
the university. The long-overdue decision, which has been hailed by many
sections of society as a step in the right direction, is likely to have
been inspired by the pressure group Open Stellenbosch. </p><p>Whether
by design or by default, it is a decision that will give De Villiers a
special place in the history of the struggle for access to higher
education for the historically disadvantaged. However, not everyone is
happy with the decision. Here’s what commentators had to say: </p><p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;line-height:20px;white-space:nowrap">FOR</span><strong></strong></p><p><strong>220 </strong><span><strong>Stellenbosch academics support</strong></span><span><strong>proposals</strong></span></p><p>We
support the proposal by the rector’s management team on November 12
2015 with regard to the use of language at Stellenbosch University.</p><p>The
choice of English as a primary language of instruction with augmented
support for Afrikaans and isiXhosa is based on the principles of social
justice and inclusivity. This decision will provide the university with
the opportunity to become a truly South African one that is open and
accessible to students and staff from our country, other parts of the
rest of Africa and beyond.</p><p>The proposed new language policy is
motivated by a concern to open access to Stellenbosch University to
students from a range of social backgrounds and to make sure they are
not marginalised when they come here. This concern has been given
prominence by students and staff in meetings and during protests, and we
applaud senior management for taking these seriously.</p><p>We are very
concerned by talk of a backlash against these proposals, which is an
attempt to retain Afrikaans as the primary language of academic
communication and instruction. In effect, this celebrates the
“exclusivity” of Afrikaans and closes the door on the university’s
ability to embrace different people from a range of cultures and
language groups.</p><p>Developing an inclusive and shared institutional
ethos based on equal worth, dignity and respect will establish our
university as a welcoming place for students, academics and workers.</p><p>It
is in this light that we, as concerned academics and professional
support services staff, declare that we support the proposals of the
rector’s management team to adopt a language policy that will enable the
university to establish itself as a truly inclusive South African
university, a welcoming and culturally inclusive place of academic study
for people from all walks of life.</p><p><strong>Stone Sizani, ANC chief whip</strong></p><p>We welcome this important change to the controversial language policy as a step in the right direction.</p><p>It
is important to us that such a change is happening at Stellenbosch
University, which has for years been regarded as an enclave of white
Afrikaner nationalism, where racial discrimination, exclusionary
policies and resistance to transformation [are the norm].</p><p><a href="http://www.news24.com/Opinions/stellenbosch-language-transition-20151123">http://www.news24.com/Opinions/stellenbosch-language-transition-20151123</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <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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