[lg policy] South Africa: UFS Language Policy Challenged in Court

Wed Jun 29 20:42:37 UTC 2016

South Africa: UFS Language Policy Challenged in Court

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South Africa: UFS Language Policy Challenged in Court

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By The Journalist

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Journalist outlines the process that unfolded since last year:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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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.

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.

The court's judgement will determine whether this will go ahead as planned
or not.

Statement by Mr George Steyn, Chair of the Stellenbosch University Council

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.

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.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201606290823.html

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