University ordered to implement ‘equal language’ plan

BDLive 19 March 2016

The High Court in the Western Cape has ordered Stellenbosch University to implement a plan for language policy developed in 2014 by the end of March that places English and Afrikaans on equal footing, reports Karl Gernetszky for BDLive.

The university had chosen not to oppose the application, brought because 268 course modules in various faculties did not comply with specifications in the language plan. The university said it had instead asked for an extension of the deadline for implementing the plan already specified in 2016 faculty calendars, from immediately to the end of March.

AfriForum Youth said the fact it had needed to go to court for the order indicated that current management did not have the interests of students at heart. "This [court order] is a triumph for the Afrikaans-speaking community in SA," AfriForum Youth spokesperson Hein Gonzales said. Language policy on campuses across SA is the subject of vigorous debate, as well as protest. Protests over language policy, including the use of Afrikaans, at the University of Pretoria and the University of the Free State briefly shut those institutions in February.
Full report on the BDLive site

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