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Hi, scholar in education policy here. Let& #39;s talk about your erroneous framing of the problem. 1/ https://twitter.com/Our_DA/status/1384437090948112384">https://twitter.com/Our_DA/st...
Instruction in a language is not & #39;banned& #39; just because it has been identified as competing with the equal concerns of equity, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. If your policy team actually read policy they would know this. 2/
The SU VC has asked the DA not to misrepresent SU& #39;s language policy which the DA continues to do in order to engage in this facile, racist battle. Afrikaans has not been banned as a language of education, but positioned accordingly in rel to equity and transformation 3/
But since we& #39;re here let& #39;s talk exclusion. The language in education policy for basic edu provides for schools to educate learners in their mother tongues. Many schools - especially Afrikaans schools - have leaned heavily on this provision in order to exclude black learners. 4/
language is one of the main & #39;soft zoning& #39; tools that racist school governing bodies use to maintain a particular demographic profile. If you cared about impoverished young people, you& #39;d advocate for more progressive interpretation of zoning, enrolment and fee policies 5/
while i& #39;m here, maybe you should send your organisation on a comprehension course because you confuse & #39;rights& #39; with & #39;entitlements& #39;, which is unsurprising given your target constituency. 6/
A right to learn in your mother tongue is contingent on a host of interacting dimensions in accessing education, but what you& #39;ve done is assume that by virtue of SU being a historically Afrikaans uni, it should continue to be so, regardless of its changing demographic and 7/
academic profile. the problem is NOT that languages are being & #39;banned& #39;, or rights infringed on, but that the DA is using language as a proxy for race in order to resist transformation efforts, and is being dishonest both in its framing and choice of discussants. 8/
if your issue is about the privileging of English as a teaching language, maybe advocate for a stronger additive multilingualism programme in all SA schools, including in African languages, including in standardising STEM subjects in African languages. 9/
