[lg policy] Away with Afrikaans

Harold Schiffman haroldfs at gmail.com
Mon Jan 29 15:14:12 UTC 2018 

Away with Afrikaans 2018-01-28 06:01

Castro Ngobese And Sibani Mngadi
- <https://www.news24.com/City-Press>
<https://www.news24.com/sendToFriend.aspx?ifame&aid=c3364b38-d82c-4c05-9251-9c79928d068f&cid=1007>
[image: Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse a crowd of
people who were protesting outside Hoërskool Overvaal last week. Picture:
Felix Dlangamandla.]

Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse a crowd of people
who were protesting outside Hoërskool Overvaal last week. Picture: Felix
Dlangamandla.

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   <http://city-press.news24.com/News/hoerskool-overvaal-doesnt-have-capacity-for-55-english-pupils-judge-20180115>
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*Popular participation is needed to defeat reactionary and undemocratic
decisions by school governing bodies that yearn for apartheid , write
Castro Ngobese and Sibane Mngadi.*

One of the most iconic images taken by photojournalist Sam Nzima during the
1976 student uprisings in Soweto captured one of the protesting students
carrying a placard with a bold message: “Away with Afrikaans.”

This was a reaction to the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of
instruction in black township schools. The image was printed in various
local newspapers and gained a global audience as it accentuated the essence
of the students’ demands.

The repressive organs of the state, particularly the police, were unleashed
to quell the dissent, and this was accompanied by ugly scenes of violence
and the mass arrests of student leaders. The repression intensified the
unity of the student-worker axis that provided a platform upon which a
popular front was built in the 1980s, spearheading the final offensive
against the apartheid regime. The ultimate outcome was the democratic
breakthrough in 1994 and a Constitution that guarantees each child the
right to quality education.

We were reminded of those scenes in Soweto in 1976 after the Pretoria High
Court decided to deny a request by 55 pupils to be enrolled and taught in
English at the Afrikaans medium Hoërskool Overvaal. The judgment was
received with mixed emotions, and some have rightly argued that the ruling
was an attack on our democratic gains in building a single, nonracial,
nonsexist, democratic public education system that is accessible to all,
irrespective of colour, language or creed.

The judgment, which the Gauteng department of education is appealing, has
led to negative consequences for the school and for the community of
Vereeniging.

Last week, on the first school day of the year, parents staged a protest to
demand that the 55 pupils be admitted to the school. The protests led to
violent scenes playing out around the school and have worsened racial
tension in the area.

Many others have interpreted the judgment as a political tool that is being
used by the school’s governing body to exclude black pupils, which leads to
continued segregation.

The SA Schools Act is not always enforced.

A case in point: Two boys from the same household who live about 500m from
Rondebosch Boys’ High School, a public school in Cape Town, apply for
admission to Grade 8. One doesn’t receive a response at all; the other is
called in for an interview.

After being thoroughly coached by his parents, he seems to handle all the
questions from the teacher well – he explains his good marks in maths and
engages in all other academic subjects. Everything seems to be going well.

The problem begins during a discussion about extra-mural activities. His
parents had prepared him for the questions about academics, but they hadn’t
anticipated queries about what sports the child was interested in.

“What sport do you play?” asks the teacher. “I play soccer. I am in the
Under 15 team for Santos,” the boy responds with pride, volunteering
information about how well his team is doing.

The teacher explains that, according to the school’s rules, all boys are
required to play rugby for the school.

“Will you be willing to play rugby?” the teacher asks.

“No, I do not like rugby,” the boy replies.

And the interview is over. The boy’s application is declined. Despite
enquiries, the school does not explain its decision. An appeal to the
school’s governing body elicits this response: “Proximity to the school is
not the only consideration and we do not have enough space.”

Several letters, emails and phone calls to Western Cape Education MEC
Debbie Schafer do not bring about a resolution. Schafer’s spokesperson,
Jessica Shelver, states that the school’s governing body has the right to
grant or decline admission to the facility.

The boys end up being admitted to Grade 8 in a private school, which costs
significantly more than Rondebosch Boys’ High School would have.

Last year, the department of education published draft amendments to the SA
Schools Act, which seek to curtail the power that governing bodies wield at
former Model C schools – schools that were built with and continue to be
funded by taxpayers’ money.

Yes, parents pay extra fees to cover the costs of running these schools,
but does that give their governing bodies the right to exclude new pupils?

Governing bodies unilaterally formulate the requirements for admission and
decide whether a new pupil meets these requirements. They are under no
obligation to explain why admission is refused and there is no appeal
process against this decision – unless the case is taken to court.

Such absolute power in the running of public institutions is unacceptable,
especially if there is evidence of systematic exclusion.

The proposed amendments to the act upgrade the final authority to admit
pupils to the head of department (HOD).

   - The changes will require school governing bodies to submit admission
   policies to the HOD for approval. “In the event that the HOD does not
   approve the policy, or any amendment thereof, he or she must return it to
   the governing body with such recommendations as may be deemed necessary.
   The policy needs to be reviewed every three years or whenever the
   prescribed factors have changed, when circumstances so require, or at the
   request of the HOD,” the bill proposes.


   - The bill further makes provisions for a pupil who has been refused
   admission to appeal to the MEC for education in their province.


   - The bill will require the governing body to submit the language policy
   of a public school, and any amendment thereof, to the HOD for approval, and
   it empowers the HOD to direct the school to adopt more than one language
   where necessary.


   - The bill will require that the code of conduct of a public school must
   take into account the diverse cultural beliefs and religious observances of
   the pupils at the school, and it makes provision for an exemption clause
   that will make it possible for pupils to decline to comply with certain
   sections of the code for religious or cultural reasons.

These proposals have been met with strong opposition from school governing
bodies, AfriForum and other entities that would like to retain their
current powers.

It is within this context that calls for the amendment of the SA Schools
Act should be supported by all progressive parents and leading voices in
society. This will require popular participation on the ground so that
reactionary and undemocratic decisions by school governing bodies that are
still envious of the apartheid schooling system are defeated.

For the purposes of reconciliation and nation-building, we are not opposed
to Afrikaans as a language, but we are opposed to the systematic use of a
“semi-imperial” language as an instrument of exclusion, especially when
used against those who are historically disadvantaged and who happen to be
the black majority.

It is necessary to form a group similar to the National Education Crisis
Committee of the 1980s to engage with all stakeholders and find solutions
to the continuing challenge of attaining transformation in our education
system. It should seek to create equality so that all of South Africa’s
children have the opportunity to access quality education.

*Ngobese works as a public servant in Gauteng; Mngadi is a corporate
affairs professional in the private sector*

*TALK TO US*

What does government need to do to ensure schools no longer reject a child
based on race, culture or language?

-- 
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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