DA will fight for language rights
3 November 2020
Sunday, 1 November 2020, was a historic day for the speakers of all 11 of South Africa’s official languages. During the Federal Congress of the Democratic Alliance (DA), delegates unanimously affirmed the Party’s commitment to champion the constitutional right of all citizens to study in their mother language at public schools and universities across the country. The text of the resolution was adopted in isiZulu, Afrikaans and English after being proposed by eThekwini councillor, Thabani Mthethwa, and Member of Parliament, Dr Leon Schreiber.
The Congress unanimously resolved that “the right to mother tongue education where reasonably practicable is a non-negotiable and fundamental element of the Bill of Rights, and is no less important than any other constitutional right.”
Going forward and both in government as well as in opposition, the DA will take “urgent and active steps to expand access to mother tongue education at every institution where it is reasonably practicable.” Even more important is the undertaking that the state must “significantly expand investment in developing all of South Africa’s official languages to ensure that mother tongue education becomes ‘reasonably practicable’ in public primary schools, universities and all other public training institutions across the country.”
This is a watershed moment for language rights in South Africa.
Rather than expanding access to mother language education, the ANC has dramatically reduced access to mother tongue education. This has happened despite the Constitution’s commitment that everyone has the right to receive education in the language of their choice. It also flies in the face of overwhelming international evidence, which clearly shows that mother tongue education is critical to educational success.
The reason why language rights are under assault in South Africa is because of a lack of political will to defend and promote these rights. Unfortunately, in recent years, the DA too did not always defend the right to mother language education as vigorously as we could have. For too long, the people did not have a political champion on their side to fight for their language rights.
That chapter came to a conclusive end on Sunday. As a result of the adoption of the language rights resolution, the DA now proudly stands alongside all people who are being prevented from reaching their full potential simply because they are unable to learn and study in the language that they understand best.
As the resolution makes clear, the first step in the DA’s battle for the speakers of South African languages is to ensure that mother tongue education is defended and reinstated in institutions where it is already reasonably practicable. It is for this reason that the DA will shortly launch an unprecedented campaign aimed at making Afrikaans equal with English at Stellenbosch University, where an indigenous South African language was apparently removed for political reasons and where mother-tongue instruction is already “reasonably practicable.”
But this is only the start. On the long journey that lies ahead in our fight to practically implement the constitutional right to mother language instruction, the DA will use every tool at our disposal to make access to education in all official languages “reasonably practicable” at many more schools and universities in South Africa. As a party that treasures diversity and is deeply committed to expanding opportunities to all citizens, Sunday’s resolution makes it clear that the DA now proudly stands with all South Africans who wish to express their rights as free people in the language of their choice.
Issued by Leon Schreiber, DA Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration, 3 November 2020
