On 15 December 2016 the North Gauteng High court rejected an application to stop the phasing out of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction at the University of Pretoria. The application was brought by Afriforum, Afriforum Youth, and Solidarity on 1 December.
The university will phase out Afrikaans from 2017.
“[UP] welcomes the High Court’s decision to uphold the resolution passed by the UP Council earlier this year,” read a statement released by the university. The new UP language policy was adopted on 22 June and stipulated that English would be the primary language of instruction from 2017.
In order for the new policy to be officially adopted, an amendment to UP’s institutional statute is required. Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training, agreed to hold off on ratifying the amendment until the court had made its decision.
Afriforum described the court’s decision as “a blow to South African language rights” and indicated that they would study the judgement before deciding whether or not to appeal.
Afrikaans was the only medium of instruction from 1932 until 1993 when English was introduced to form a dual language policy.
Written by: Staff Reporter
Originally published: perdeby.co.za/sections/news/tuks-news/5227-court-rules-on-up-language-policy
