<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="">South Africa: UFS Language Policy Challenged in Court</h1><div class="">
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<div class=""><span class=""></span><span class="">South Africa: UFS Language Policy Challenged in Court<br></span></div>
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<cite class="">By The Journalist</cite><p class="">The
language issue at three universities continue to be in the spotlight.
Last week, the University of Pretoria (UP) and the University of
Stellenboch (US) confirmed new language policy decisions. The UP adopted
English as an interlanguage much the same as the approach of the
University of the Free State (UFS) outlined below. The US settled for a
complex mixed language model. At the same time, UFS's policy faced a
challenge in the High Court.</p>
<p class="">On 20 June 2016,
the Bloemfontein High Court reserved judgement in a matter that
challenged the University of the Free State's (UFS) decision to move
from parrallel language instruction to English. Afriforum and
Solidariteit (together with amici: the Afrikaanse Taalraad, the
Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools and the South
African Teachers' Union) lodged an application to have the decision of
the UFS Senate and Council set aside. If this is granted it would force
UFS to go back to the drawing board. A parallel medium policy was first
decided in 1993 and further developed in 2003.</p>
<p class="">They lodged the
application on the grounds that the Senate and Council decision was not
taken rationally and that they never considered the constitutional
rights of Afrikaans-speakers to be educated in their home language. They
expected to win the right to take the matter to the Constitutional
Court. They also wanted the parallel medium policy adopted in 1993 and
endorsed in 2003 to replace the new policy.</p>
<p class="">Documentary
evidence in court showed that the UFS governing bodies were aware that
home language education, especially at the tertiary level, was not a
guaranteed, unqualified right for one group. They had a duty to weigh up
how the implementation of that right might unfairly discriminate
against fulfilling the rights and freedoms of other groups.</p>
<p class="">The Journalist outlines the process that unfolded since last year:</p>
<p class="">The university's
Language Committee conducted a comprehensive review process on all three
campuses from July to November 2015. Over the past 23 years, there have
been repeated, widespread recognition by, among others, leaders of the
institution, several institutional reports and audits, a report by the
previous language committee (2010) and four out of eleven submissions at
the University Assembly (2015) that the university has been battling to
foster integration and social cohesion due, in part, to its parallel
medium policy adopted in 1993.</p>
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<p class="">Structurally
speaking, the policy continues to make possible separate and divisive
teaching and learning environments and therefore, in practice, calls
matters of equality, access, participation and fairness into question -
not only in terms of vastly altered student demographics and their
learning experiences but in terms of staff recruitment and retention as
well. The policy was seen to be causing some serious hindrance to the
advancement of inclusive multilingualism, the internationalization plans
of the university, practical demands of academic publishing, employment
equity and more generally, the optimal functioning of the Academic and
Human Projects of the UFS.</p>
<p class="">Following the
review process, the Committee formulated a report based on the evidence
acquired with a set of recommendations. They submitted it to all
governing institutional bodies for discussion. In formulating the report
and recommendations, the Committee was guided by the Constitution
(1996), the Higher Education Act 101, higher education policies,
frameworks and reports, advice from various experts and a mass of
institutional data including more than 400 submissions from
stakeholders.</p>
<p class="">On 4 December 2015,
the UFS Council in concurrence with the Senate, voted decisively in
favour of changing its parallel Language Policy ratified in Council in
2003. Prior to the Council meeting, the University Management Committee,
Rectorate and Institutional Forum also supported the change and
forwarded their own notifications in this regard to the Council.</p>
<p class="">The debates in all
member gatherings were lengthy and detailed, taking many problematic
aspects of practicability, equity and redress into account. Responding
to the university community's pleas for change, the Council elected to
set aside the current parallel Language Policy and opt for a new policy
to be formulated with the instruction and business of the university to
be conducted primarily in an interlanguage. The interlanguage with
broadest access in South Africa was English. It was decided that this
would be the interlanguage of choice since this would provide an
inclusive environment in which all members could participate locally and
internationally. This would make possible access to a global competency
essential to academic freedom requiring the contestation of competing
ideas, shared communicative actions, and multicultural social exchanges.</p>
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<p class="">Moreover, due to
the easy availability of English learning materials and open access
through digital media, English would go a long way to combat problems of
exclusion that persists at the university. In the new policy, where
specific languages were a necessary competence for practice in
respective sectors - such as language courses, teacher education and
training theology practitioners for specialized, single-language usage -
instruction in other South African languages would continue.</p>
<p class="">Further, an
extended multilingual tutorial system would be developed and supported
as this has happened organically in many pockets of the university
already and would greatly assist first-years transitioning to English
medium, in particular. In March 2016, the Council (again in concurrence
with the Senate) voted to adopt the newly formulated policy and
corresponding implementation plan to begin operation in 2017.</p>
<p class="">The court's judgement will determine whether this will go ahead as planned or not.</p>
<p class="">Statement by Mr George Steyn, Chair of the Stellenbosch University Council</p>
<p class="">The Council of
Stellenbosch University (SU) today (22 June 2016) approved the proposed
new Language Policy with the amendments proposed by Senate. On 9 June
2016, Senate approved the Language Policy with a large majority of votes
(113 for and 10 against). According to the Higher Education Act and the
Statute of Stellenbosch University, the Language Policy is the only
policy to be approved by Council with the concurrence of Senate.</p>
<p class="">By approving the
proposed new Language Policy, Council has expressed its unequivocal
support for multilingualism, without excluding students who are not
proficient in either Afrikaans or English. The policy is based on the
principles that the University's languages of instruction must promote
access and academic success, and that the institution's language policy
must serve its academic project. The policy explicitly makes provision
for students who prefer to study in Afrikaans, while also improving
access to education for students who are proficient in English only.</p><p class=""><a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201606290823.html">http://allafrica.com/stories/201606290823.html</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="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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