Petition to Stellenbosch University to make Afrikaans equal with English
Sign the DA's petition to Stellenbosch University to review the university’s language policy to establish a fair language dispensation that guarantees Afrikaans and English equal status as primary languages of instruction, learning and living in all areas of the university.
Kliek hier om die petisie in Afrikaans te sien/teken
Out of our deep commitment to the language rights and other human rights contained in our country’s Constitution, and due to our concern over the exclusion of millions of impoverished Afrikaans-speaking young people from higher education, we demand that:
- The first draft of the new March 2021 language policy is rejected because it will result in the further exclusion of Afrikaans students. The SU must restart the review process by immediately arranging a public conference where all stakeholders and members of the public will have an opportunity to discuss the shortcomings of the 2016 language policy with the aim of creating a new policy that guarantees an equal place to Afrikaans;
- The new language policy must create a fair language dispensation that grants absolutely equal status to Afrikaans and English as primary languages of teaching and student life in all the spaces – including online spaces – of the university;
- If the university is concerned about the costs involved in this, the SU must commission a comprehensive and independent audit to ascertain how much it would cost to guarantee equal status to Afrikaans and English. It must make the findings of such an audit public and provide donors, the private sector and the community that opportunity to help fundraise to cover the costs;
- SU must fully exploit the opportunities offered by modern digital communications technologies, including online “speech-to-text” technology, to facilitate accurate translation between languages;
- Given the way in which the Afrikaans offer was dramatically reduced by the 2016 language policy, the new language policy must explicitly commit to increasing the Afrikaans offer to ensure full access for all deserving students who wish to study in Afrikaans while maintaining access for students who wish to study in English;
- The new language policy must explicitly and concretely commit the university to providing financial and other support to learners in Afrikaans schools in disadvantaged communities, with the aim of building a pipeline of Afrikaans students from these schools and to dramatically increase the participation and pass rates of disadvantaged Afrikaans students at SU.
Please note: each signature on this petition indicates a person who submits the below comment on the SU draft policy of March 2021. The DA will submit the comments, together with the list of all persons who support it, directly to the SU.
14257 needed to reach 20000
Kliek hier om die petisie in Afrikaans te sien/teken
Out of our deep commitment to the language rights and other human rights contained in our country’s Constitution, and due to our concern over the exclusion of millions of impoverished Afrikaans-speaking young people from higher education, we demand that:
- The first draft of the new March 2021 language policy is rejected because it will result in the further exclusion of Afrikaans students. The SU must restart the review process by immediately arranging a public conference where all stakeholders and members of the public will have an opportunity to discuss the shortcomings of the 2016 language policy with the aim of creating a new policy that guarantees an equal place to Afrikaans;
- The new language policy must create a fair language dispensation that grants absolutely equal status to Afrikaans and English as primary languages of teaching and student life in all the spaces – including online spaces – of the university;
- If the university is concerned about the costs involved in this, the SU must commission a comprehensive and independent audit to ascertain how much it would cost to guarantee equal status to Afrikaans and English. It must make the findings of such an audit public and provide donors, the private sector and the community that opportunity to help fundraise to cover the costs;
- SU must fully exploit the opportunities offered by modern digital communications technologies, including online “speech-to-text” technology, to facilitate accurate translation between languages;
- Given the way in which the Afrikaans offer was dramatically reduced by the 2016 language policy, the new language policy must explicitly commit to increasing the Afrikaans offer to ensure full access for all deserving students who wish to study in Afrikaans while maintaining access for students who wish to study in English;
- The new language policy must explicitly and concretely commit the university to providing financial and other support to learners in Afrikaans schools in disadvantaged communities, with the aim of building a pipeline of Afrikaans students from these schools and to dramatically increase the participation and pass rates of disadvantaged Afrikaans students at SU.
Please note: each signature on this petition indicates a person who submits the below comment on the SU draft policy of March 2021. The DA will submit the comments, together with the list of all persons who support it, directly to the SU.