[lg policy] South Africa: ANC slams DA on Stellenbosch’s language policy stance

[Harold Schiffman]

 ANC slams DA on Stellenbosch’s language policy stance
13
ANA
[image: Stone Sizani and ANC Spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, address the
media in Parliament, on March 26, 2014, in Cape Town, South Africa. The ANC
leadership critisized the Public Protector's report. (Photo by Gallo Images
/ Foto24 / Leanne Stander)]

Stone Sizani and ANC Spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, address the media in
Parliament, on March 26, 2014, in Cape Town, South Africa. The ANC
leadership critisized the Public Protector's report. (Photo by Gallo Images
/ Foto24 / Leanne Stander)
He further says the DA is the enemy of transformation and defender of white
privilege.

African National Congress chief whip Stone Sizani strongly criticised the
Democratic Alliance on Sunday for its stance on Stellenbosch University’s
proposed new language policy.

“The office of the ANC chief whip notes the announced change in language
policy at the Stellenbosch University, which would see all learning at the
institution being offered in English as a common language in the country,”
Sizani’s office said in a statement.

“The institution’s management further announced that ‘substantial academic
support’ would be provided in other South African languages in accordance
with students’ needs.

“As it is to be expected, the enemy of transformation and defender of white
privilege, the DA, has already spoken out in opposition of these important
transformation developments both at Stellenbosch University.”

“The DA’s disgraceful statement, which seeks to stand in the way of
inclusiveness and transformation at the university, is a reinforcement of
[DA MP] Wilmot James’s defense of the policy in 2009 as necessary to
‘preserve its cultural heritage’,” the statement said.

In a statement on Saturday, DA spokesperson Belinda Bozzoli said the DA
believed in building inclusive campuses, where students were not excluded
on the basis of language or any other characteristic, but was concerned at
certain aspects of the proposed policy.

The DA supported the constitutional principle that every person had the
right to be taught in the official language of their choice, where
reasonably practicable, and also respected the autonomy of Stellenbosch
University to make decisions affecting its language policy.

“It cannot be argued that teaching in Afrikaans is not ‘reasonably
practicable’. The constitutional rights of Afrikaans-speaking students,
therefore, need to be upheld while those of other students of different
backgrounds are also met. That is what inclusiveness means in a
multicultural society,” she said.

So instead of jettisoning Afrikaans as the primary language of instruction,
ways should be found to ensure that the principles of language rights were
upheld.

The DA also expressed concern at the consultation process undertaken by the
university so far, which appeared to have been quite narrow, and may not
have taken all views into consideration.

“We note, for example, that the South African Students’ Congress was
consulted, but the Democratic Alliance Student Organisation was not.
Students and academic staff with a wide variety of opinions surely need to
be consulted, including many whose views may not accord with those of any
political party or movement,” Bozzoli said.

The DA suggested the university use the next stage of its consultative
process to significantly widen the pool of those consulted, to include all
students, student organisations, academics, and alumni, and to ensure that
all constitutional principles were duly adhered to.

http://citizen.co.za/867685/anc-slams-da-on-stellenboschs-language-policy-stance/


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