The University of Stellenbosch will introduce English as a primary language from next year, the institution said on Friday.
The institution said its management team had been in discussion with various student groups over the past months and received feedback and input related to classroom experiences from “Open Stellenbosch” movement the Student Representative Council, SA Students Congress.
The university said language task teams have since been considering various options for, among others, best practice in language implementation in 2016.
“Since English is the common language in South Africa, all learning at Stellenbosch University will be facilitated in English, and substantial academic support will be provided in other South African languages, according to students’ needs,” the university said in a statement.
“At the same time, by means of its Language Policy and Language Plan, the university is committed to the creation of spaces within which English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa and other languages can flourish. In particular, the university remains committed to the further development of Afrikaans and isiXhosa as academic languages.”
The “Open Stellenbosch” movement was formed by students at the institution earlier this year to address issues of transformation and exclusion from some academic programmes at the institution.
The students demanded that Afrikaans be scrapped as a primary language and that all courses be available in English. The group also called for the dissolution of the council
A video, called Luister, chronicling racism at the campus went viral after it was posted social media this year, drawing widespread criticism against the institution.
– African News Agency (ANA)
