Stellenbosch language decision: ANC happy, FF Plus not

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Stellenbosch University’s decision to adopt English as its medium of instruction continued, over the weekend, to stir strong emotions from various sectors.

“We welcome this important change to the controversial language policy as a step in the right direction,” the office of the ANC Chief Whip said in a statement.

“It is important to us that such a change is happening at Stellenbosch University, which has for years been regarded as an enclave of white Afrikaner nationalism where racial discrimination, exclusionary policies and resistance to transformation [are the norm].”

This week, the university announced that all learning at the institution would soon be in English as it is the common language in the country. The rector's management team on the university's language policy also said in a statement that “substantial academic support” would be provided in other South African languages, according to students' needs.

However, opposition party Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder said that the proposed change in language policy at the university was “short-sighted”.

“Afrikaans 6.8 million speakers is the third largest language in South Africa after Zulu (11.5 million) and Xhosa (8.1 million),” he said in a statement. It is the majority language in the Western Cape, where the university is based.

Mulder also quoted article 29 (2) of the Constitution which states: "Everyone has the right to receive public education institutions teaching in the official language of their choice where that education is reasonably practicable".

The Afrikanerbond organisation also lambasted the decision, saying that “Anglicisation is the easy way out” and would “takes us back to colonialism”.

Chair Jaco Schoeman said in a statement that it believed the university’s proposed change was borne out of “an effort towards extreme political correctness” that had placed Afrikaans “on the altar for personal survival”.

Meanwhile, rights organisation, Afriforum’s youth division said in a statement that it would be asking Rector Wim de Villiers to hold a meeting whereby “Afrikaans students will also be able to give input on the university’s language policy”.

News24 - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/stellenbosch-language-decision-anc-happy-ff-plus-not-20151115
 
This both angers and saddens me, frankly. Maties, a cultural icon for the Afrikaner community, has basically been nationalised and forced to surrender its identity. An injustice is being done. Were I an Afrikaner this would push me further along the path to Die Derde Vryheidsoorlog. Did our overlords learn nothing from the apartheid experience?
 
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Will this have any negative affect on the quality of the graduates leaving the school?
 
Fudzy said:
Will this have any negative affect on the quality of the graduates leaving the school?
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It did on UJ when it changed from RAU, last time I checked about 70% of Potch's graduates come from outside of the Northwest, Tukkies at one stage was also losing good graduates from top Afrikaans schools (although they actually managed to find a good, but not perfect solution).

The reality is that the Afrikaans community is not surprised, they expected and predicted this type of thing years ago and it will be a matter of years before Potch also bends to the government. Solidarity already made plans for a private Afrikaans university (they have a few courses and two degree programmes I believe, in combination with their artisan college). So yeah the ANC is only proving that the far right (not extreme right) from years ago, the KP and Nats's predictions for the future of SA was quite accurate. The Afrikaans historian Herman Giliomee also mentioned this.

Surprisingly quite a number of liberal voices like Anchen Dreyer in the DA and Breyten Breytenbach did speak out against this change.

Tomorrow I am going to tell the French that I want my classes in English only and that I feel oppressed, I wonder how long they will tolerate me.
 
Stellies makes a VERY clear that some of its courses are taught in afrikaans. If you, with that knowledge, still sign up to go to that university AND THEN protest about it, you should be expelled on the spot. This generation with their entitled mindset needs to be squashed because it's going to be the same generation that starts protesting the fact they can't find jobs after university but will either refuse to vote or vote anc.
 
This is just wrong, how much longer must the afrikaner culture be surpressed and not do anything about it. The governement not giving two ****s about the culture, Having to "do away" with the little things they have left and stand for in this country. Thats what happens when you are the minority. Sad day for the afrikaner
 
Does this mean they are dropping Afrikaans or simply making English the primary medium of instruction?
 
OrbitalDawn said:
The latter.
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Sounds fair to me then as it accommodates a minority language while making a public institution accessible to the rest of the non Afrikaans population. And one has to take account of the fact that most of them don't even have English as a home language.
 
R13... said:
Sounds fair to me then as it accommodates a minority language while making a public institution accessible to the rest of the non Afrikaans population. And one has to take account of the fact that most of them don't even have English as a home language.
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Yep. And as I pointed out in the other thread, 45% of enrolled students (this was last year, so likely more now) put English as their home language. It's likely even more now. And more importantly, how many Afrikaans home-language students also choose English as their tuition language.
 
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