ANC accused of Afrikaans bias
2004-09-13 20:50
Cape Town - The Freedom Front Plus on Monday accused the government of phasing out Afrikaans schools "in a calculated manner".
"It is the only conclusion one can draw from the decision of the Northern Cape department of education to force all Afrikaans-medium schools in Kuruman to revert to dual-medium schools," said FF+ education spokesman Andrew Gerber.
It was ironic the decision was taken in a province which was nearly 70% Afrikaans, he said.
"Of the more than 2 000 single-medium schools of a few years ago, only 300 still function as a single medium.
"Is it coincidental that this decision of the Northern Cape education department follows shortly after the African National Congress Youth League last week accepted a decision that language and culture will never again be used in schools 'to divide people'?" asked Gerber.
'Making the same mistakes'
This decision was in direct conflict with the right of governing bodies to decide the language policy of schools, and similar decisions made by education departments in other provinces resulted in court cases which the departments lost.
"Repeated court cases about the same issue will result in a lot of money, intended for education, being thrown in the water."
The time had come for Education Minister Naledi Pandor to intervene to prevent "this ridiculous situation, the loss of money, and the repetition of the same mistakes".
- SAPA