Notices > Language Policy for Higher Education

(7)

The Minister of Education must, in accordance with Section 27(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1997, determine language policy for higher education. Subject to the policy determined by the Minister, the councils of public higher education institutions, with the concurrence of their senates, must determine the language policy of a higher education institution and must publish and make such policy available on request. The requirement of the Act takes into account the authority of institutions to determine language policy provided that such determination is within the context of public accountability and the Ministry’s responsibility to establish the policy parameters.

(8)	The Ministry’s framework for language policy in higher education is outlined in this statement.

(9)

In developing such a framework, and in accordance with the Higher Education Act, the Minister of Education requested advice from the Council on Higher Education on the development of an appropriate language policy for higher education. This followed the decision of Cabinet in 1999 to prioritise the development of a language framework for higher education. In July 2001, the Council submitted its advice to the Minister in a report entitled "Language Policy Framework for South African Higher Education". The Report is attached as Annexure 1. A range of proposals and recommendations has been advanced in this report, many of which have informed the development of this policy document. However, a few of the recommendations will require further consideration. The Ministry will engage with the Council in this regard.

(10)

Subsequent to the advice received from the Council, the Minister invited Professor G J Gerwel to convene an informal committee to provide him with advice specifically with regard to Afrikaans. In particular, the committee was requested to advise on ways in which Afrikaans "can be assured of continued long term maintenance, growth and development as a language of science and scholarship in the higher education system without non-Afrikaans speakers being unfairly denied access within the system, or the use and development of the language as a medium of instruction wittingly or unwittingly becoming the basis for racial, ethnic or cultural division and discrimination". The reason for this focus on Afrikaans is that other than English, Afrikaans is the only other South African language which is employed as a medium of instruction and official communication in institutions of higher education.

(10.1)

In January 2002, the Gerwel Committee submitted its advice to the Minister, which is contained in its report entitled "Report to Minister of Education A K Asmal by the Informal Committee Convened to Advise on the Position of Afrikaans in the University System". This Report is attached as Annexure 2. In addition, the Ministry considered the views expressed by a number of different constituencies, including those of the Vice-Chancellors of the Historically Afrikaans Institutions.

(11)

By way of background information, it is important to note that the South African student population in higher education is linguistically diverse and it is not uncommon to find a variety of home languages represented in the student body of a single institution. Table 1 below provides a breakdown of the home languages of students registered in public universities and technikons in 2000. As indicated, although English and Afrikaans are the two most frequently reported home languages, the extent of linguistic diversity is evident in the fact that 50% of total student enrolments report an indigenous African language or another language as the home language. The extent of linguistic diversity within individual institutions depends on the degree to which students are recruited locally, regionally or nationally.

Table 1

HOME LANGUAGE	UNIVERSITIES	TECHNIKONS	TOTAL	% OF TOTAL ENROLMENTS
Afrikaans	71,979	27,363	99,342	16
English	136,957	55,509	192,466	32
IsiNdebele	2,641	637	3,278	1
IsiXhosa	38,247	28,396	66,643	11
IsiZulu	39,363	28,509	67,872	11
SeSotho	22,176	15,597	37,773	6
SeSotho sa Lebowa	20,818	10,332	31,150	5
Setswana	19,661	15,542	35,203	6
SiSwati	4,236	2,242	6,478	1
Tshivenda	9,199	4,817	14,016	2
Xitsonga	9,239	5,547	14,786	2
Other language	21,319	4,070	25,389	4
Language unknown	6,294	4,805	11,099	2
TOTAL	402,129	203,366	605,495	100

Higher Education Management Information Systems (2000)

(11.1)

Evidence suggests that the majority of universities and technikons use English as the sole medium of instruction or, as is the case in most historically Afrikaans medium institutions, offer parallel/dual instruction in English and Afrikaans. According to the Council on Higher Education (2001), the University of Stellenbosch is the only university where "at the level of policy, Afrikaans is the only Language of Tuition at undergraduate level". It is clear, however, from the recent language audit carried out by the University of Stellenbosch, that in practice there has been a shift towards the use of English as language of instruction in conjunction with Afrikaans.

(11.1.1)

The shift on the part of historically Afrikaans medium institutions to parallel/dual language instruction may be ascribed to the demographic changes in the student population over the past decade and, in particular, to the increasing numbers of students for whom Afrikaans is not a first or second language. The decision by both universities and technikons to adopt a more flexible language policy has, in all cases, been voluntary and self-funded, reflecting in part a growing commitment to transformation. In fact, no requests have been received from such institutions for additional resources to support their language strategies. The Ministry gives due recognition to these changes, while acknowledging that implementation has been uneven. In some instances, the commitment of institutional leadership to parallel and dual medium approaches has not necessarily translated into appropriate practice at departmental and individual levels.

(11.2)

The future of South African languages as areas of academic study and research is a matter of serious concern. In particular, the importance of studying and mastering different South African languages for the development of a common sense of nationhood cannot be overemphasised. Regrettably, enrolments in language programmes have declined in recent years resulting in the closure of several language departments. These developments, if not addressed, have the potential to jeopardise the future study of languages, literature and culture in our country.

Such a shift away from language studies also has serious implications for teacher training and the promotion of multilingualism in general and further education.

(11.3)

The study of foreign languages is also under threat, with declining enrolments in most language programmes.

(11.4)

As in other spheres of society, higher education has not yet succeeded in establishing multilingualism in both the day-to-day institutional life and in core activities. For example, few institutions include an African language as a training requirement for undergraduate and postgraduate study, or offer short courses in African languages as in-service learning opportunities for professionals in practice. The failure to promote multilingualism also hampers the creation of an inclusive institutional environment advancing tolerance and respect for diversity.

Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997)

Notices

Language Policy for Higher Education

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