Academics call for universities to heed languages policy

South African academics have urged institutions of higher learning to be progressive and implement the country’s Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions, which came into effect earlier this year, writes Kgaogelo Letsebe for Research Professional News.

The framework is designed to develop and strengthen indigenous languages in scholarship, teaching and learning at tertiary level. South Africa has 11 official languages, and its academic output is dominated by two: English and Afrikaans.

“We cannot look at the academe the way we did in the past. We cannot be celebrating people completing PhDs in their mother tongue when that should be a norm and not an exception to the rule. We need to push for more collaboration to build coherency in our actions,” Linda Meyer, director of operations and sector support at Universities South Africa, told a 22 June meeting.
Full report on the Research Professional News site