Reregistration of AfriForum Youth Tuks denied due to Afrikaans application forms
21 April 2015
AfriForum Youth has given their legal team the instruction to investigate various legal options after the University of Pretoria (UP) denied the organisation’s application for the reregistration of AfriForum Youth Tuks on campus because their application forms, which was submitted to the Department of Student Affairs (DSA), were completed in Afrikaans.
“This is a direct attack against Afrikaans by staff members of the DSA who are openly opposed to the language. This is also in contradiction to the language policy of the UP which makes provision that all communication with the University may be in English or Afrikaans,” said Eduan Dupper, spokesperson for AfriForum Youth.
The decision that organisations who submit their application forms in Afrikaans may not reregister was made by Mzikazi Noholoza, Head of Student Affairs, who told AfriForum Youth that Afrikaans applications are not accepted since she is not fluent in the language.
However, AfriForum Youth was able to confirm that Nohozola told a former member of the Student Representative Council that she is fluent in Afrikaans, but refuses to speak or read the language purely out of principle.