AfriForum fighting to keep Afrikaans in schools

‘Let our children receive quality mother-tongue education’

FORTY years ago, black pupils protested against the use of Afrikaans in junior high schools. Now the tables have turned, with the Afrikaner community fighting to keep control of a small number of schools that use the language as a medium of instruction.

Their charge is being led by minority rights organisation AfriForum, which has been butting heads with most provincial education departments, but its biggest fight is in Gauteng, where its protest has headed to court. Its greatest concern: the planned conversion of predominantly Afrikaans schools into dualmedium ones.

Last month, the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the Gauteng Education Department after the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools challenged the validity of the 2012 amendments made to the regulations on pupil admissions. The argument was over who should decide who may attend a particular school.

The Constitutional Court found the regulations were rational, reasonable and justifiable, and not in conflict with national legislation. The court directed MEC Panyaza Lesufi to set feeder zones for Gauteng within 12 months.

But that has created anxiety in the minority rights movement, and AfriForum and its political partner, the trade union Solidarity, have said they are considering seeking international legal advice.

AfriForum’s education project manager, Carien Bloem, brought the issue closer to what the organisation hopes are the concerns of a democratic nation: “Forty years ago, Afrikaans was forced on learners. Now, it is a matter of choice. We are saying: let our children receive quality mother-tongue education.”

Bloem’s position is that AfriForum, which was established in 2006 is “not only fighting for Afrikaans but other official languages as well”.

She encouraged Lesufi to improve education in townships instead of encouraging pupils from there to migrate to predominantly Afrikaans schools, most of them in formerly whites-only suburbs.

Former Robben Islander and PAC member Mike Matsobane, who was instrumental in the June 16, 1976 uprising,says a new, common, indigenous South African language should be developed.

“I don’t see Afrikaans as an issue. We have to gain inspiration from it and develop an indigenous language.”

He said that by creating a new language, none of the official languages could be given preference over any of the others.