DA welcomes the Supreme Court of Appeal’s rejection of Unisa’s Afrikaans ban

1 July 2020

Note to Editors: Please find an attached video and soundbite  by Belinda Bozzoli MP, DA Shadow Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology

The Democratic alliance (DA) welcomes the Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling that the removal of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction at the University of South Africa (Unisa) was unlawful and unconstitutional.

This ruling is a victory for mother-tongue education and language diversity at tertiary institutions across the country.

The DA has always been a strong proponent of mother-tongue education and we will never waiver from the constitutional principle that every South African has the right to be taught in the official language of their choice, where reasonably practicable.

Just like all of our indigenous languages, Afrikaans deserves equal protection and academic development.

After 26 years of democracy, the government and public institutions should not be engaging in the vilification and removal of one language in preference of another, but rather engage society in order to actively develop all South African languages into languages of business, commerce, academia, and literature.

The DA will do an in-depth study of the SCA ruling, as we believe that its sets an important precedent for the protection of language rights, mother-tongue education and the development of indigenous languages in South Africa.

Issued byBelinda Bozzoli,DA Shadow Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, 1 July 2020