South Africa: does current system of parallel medium of instruction divide students by race and language?

[Harold Schiffman]

Reitz hostel to be centre for unity?
Sapa Published:Mar 18, 2008

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Closing down the hostel would send out a powerful message that the UFS
has acted decisively




The Reitz men's residence at the University of the Free State should
be closed down and changed into a centre for transformation, unity and
reconciliation, the Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Education said
today. Chairperson of the committee, Professor Shepherd Mayatula, said
it was necessary due to the negative racial connotations that had been
associated with the hostel which was now associated with the
university and Bloemfontein. "Closing down the hostel would send out a
powerful message that the UFS has acted decisively and has
disassociated itself from the negative shadow Reitz had cast over it,"
Mayatula said in a statement. The committee visited the UFS yesterday
and met with management, union and student bodies, to hear their
recommendations and concerns on integration in the university.


Mayatula said they urged the university to fast-track its integration
policy to avoid incidents such as the shocking video that surfaced
last month made by four Reitz residents. The short film, which has
sparked a national outcry, features black university employees on
their knees eating food which had apparently been urinated upon by a
white student. It depicts a mock initiation of five black staff
members into hostel activities and refers openly to the university's
integration policy for campus residences announced in 2007. Mayatula
said there was a general understanding of transformation at the
university but there was not sufficient agreement as to how
transformation should be implemented.


He said one suggestion was a review of the language policy because the
current system of parallel medium of instruction further divided
students by their race. Mayatula said management agreed that the
university's image was shattered after the Reitz video was shown to
the public. The committee also visited the hostel. "(The committee)
urged all students of the university to unify and fight against racism
instead of pointing fingers at each other," Mayatula said.



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