Sustained DA pressure forces Stellenbosch University to review its anti-Afrikaans language policy

Sustained pressure by the DA over the past year – including through court actions and public campaigns – has today resulted in an announcement by Stellenbosch University (SU) that it will immediately review its controversial language policy.

 This decisive victory for the DA in defence of mother-tongue education comes amid a storm that erupted after reports that the current language policy banned students from speaking Afrikaans – even in their hostels and on campus. The DA will visit the campus on Thursday to ensure that this discriminatory practice comes to an end.

Today’s announcement is an admission by the university that the DA is correct about the fact that the 2016 language policy is a massive failure, because it removed the right of Afrikaans students to receive education in their mother-tongue.

The early revision of the language policy now provides a final opportunity for the university to implement a fairer language policy. The DA will now build further on the pressure we have already generated by launching a full-scale campaign to place English and Afrikaans students on equal footing at Stellenbosch. We ask the public to join hands with us in this quest to give expression to the right to mother-tongue education contained in our Constitution.

The DA looks forward to submitting constructive proposals to the university to ensure that the mistakes of the 2016 language policy are not repeated, and to ensure that both Afrikaans and English students are fully included.
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