The South African Government of National Unity faces critical decisions regarding the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill, particularly its proposed language policy changes. Mishandling these provisions could exacerbate ethnic tensions, undermining nation-building efforts. Instead, revisiting the 2002 Gerwel Commission recommendations could foster a more inclusive, multilingual society, drawing on lessons from successful models like Switzerland. Thoughtful legislative action is essential to avoid conflict and nurture a generation that values linguistic diversity.
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By Hügo Krüger*
The South African Government of National Unity (GNU) has to put the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill aside, and in particular reflect on the provisions regarding its proposed changes to language policy in schools. If not handled with care, these provisions will inflame ethnic tensions and set the country back in its nation-building efforts. The GNU would do better if it rather considers implementing the 2002 recommendations of the Gerwel Commission, which was formed when Kader Asmal was Minister of Education under President Thabo Mbeki’s government. These recommendations, though over two decades old, remain relevant and could be easily updated to suit the needs of today’s South African society.
If managed correctly, South Africa could follow the example of societies such as Switzerland, where children are educated in multiple languages, fostering a multilingual and culturally aware society. Conversely, mishandling the language issue could have significant consequences. Afrikaner organizations, such as AfriForum, which have strong emotional ties to language for understandable historical reasons, have already pressured the Democratic Alliance. Additionally, rival and opportunistic figures within the ANC, such as Panaza Lesufi, who is eager to see the coalition collapse, are exploiting the DA’s internal divisions for personal gain. If a compromise on Afrikaans within the GNU is not reached, there is a risk that the DA may withdraw from the coalition government, potentially leading to the collapse of the GNU. The prospects of creating a multilingual South Africa, founded on mutual cooperation, empathy, and respect, could be delayed for another generation.
As someone who served as the University of Pretoria’s Student Representative Council portfolio head for Multilingualism and Culture in 2011, I have seen firsthand how language stirs emotions, particularly among Afrikaans-speaking and black students. My time in that role gave me the opportunity to study the historical and cultural roots of South Africa’s language debates. As a polyglot fluent in several languages, I appreciate the importance of linguistic diversity and the GNU should nurture it, rather than actively suppress it.
Today, the University of Pretoria operates almost exclusively in English, a reality that came about due to both demographic pressures in the aftermath of Apartheid, and an unfortunate lack of institutional leadership to promote multilingualism. This shift towards English was not the result of pressure from the ANC government, it rather stemmed from the refusal of Afrikaans university leadership to accept a offer proposed by Thabo Mbeki following the recommendation of the Gerwel Commision as will be explained below.
The delay in implementing these recommendations is a root cause of the problem and I therefore express my disagreement with Prof. Jonathan Jansen, who believes that there is a significant ‘fuss’ over nothing.
In my opinion, any informed discussion of language policy in South Africa should take the following empirical observations about multilingualism and institutions into consideration.
- A distinction should be made between the home language, wrongfully referred to as “mother tongue” (because the language of the “father” is of equal importance), and the shared environment, i.e., the environment of the friends. Language acquisition, as per the work of linguists such as Steven Pinker is instinctual. Once a child reaches a certain age, the influence of their shared environment becomes more pronounced, which is why individuals are often more likely to speak the dialect of their friends rather than that of their parents. Children acquire language as much from their friends as from their parents.
- Once 20 percent or more of a student body speaks English, the institution reaches a tipping point, and English becomes the dominant language of instruction. This relationship has predictive capability, because it has been observed at Afrikaans Universities, whether Afrikaans was taught in parallel medium (as at Stellenbosch) or in dual medium (as at UP and UJ). The relationship has also been observed at Afrikaans schools.
- University professors and teachers often prefer to teach in English, while students and their parents frequently have different expectations. This mismatch creates little institutional inertia when the government intervenes in language policy. Similar phenomena have been widely observed at multilingual universities in places such as Quebec, where both English and French are taught, and in Alsace, where classes are conducted in both German and French.
- Discussions about language are as crucial to South African national identity as discussions about race and it is particularly pronounced among Afrikaners. Any move by the government that is perceived as an attempt to marginalize Afrikaans will deepen divisions, much like Ukraine’s decision to ban the usage of Russian and Hungarian languages fueled internal strife – A decision that contributed to Vladimir Putin’s pretext for the Russia-Ukraine War and which gave Viktor Orbán an excuse to withhold cooperation with the European Union on the ongoing crisis.
- The dominance of English in many regions can be traced back to British colonialism. English was established as a primary language in numerous countries and remained practically useful long after the period of imperial expansion. This phenomenon accelerated in the aftermath of World War II due to America’s dominance in trade and commerce. Other languages, such as French, Russian, and Spanish, also spread as a result of colonial expansion, but they do not have the same level of influence in global trade and commerce as English. Not even the apartheid regime, whose Afrikaner elite defined themselves as anti-English, could ignore this obvious fact. English remain’s South Africa’s Lingua Franca.
- South Africa, like Ukraine, is a post-colonial society, characterized by hybrid identities and languages and dialects. As such, these issues must be handled with great care as mishandling always risks provoking conflict. The GNU simply cannot ignore it or an opportunist will exploit the divisions.
Read more: BELA Bill: Threatening public education and increasing inequality – Andrew Kenny
The issue of language has always been contentious in South Africa, shifting based on who was in power. For example, during the Soweto Uprising, Afrikaans was forced upon black students, leading to the 1976 protests, during which the Apartheid regime infamously responded by killing schoolchildren. The unrest was sparked by the imposition of an Afrikaans-based curriculum. When ‘Punt’ Jansen, the minister responsible, was asked in parliament whether he had consulted black students, his response was on the lines of, ‘No, I didn’t, and I’m not going to.’ This deep-seated resentment and anger among black South Africans are rooted in these events and resurface whenever the topic of Afrikaans is raised.
However, there is another, often overlooked aspect of this history, which is rarely discussed in the English-speaking press whenever Afrikaans is mentioned. Over 100 years ago, with the introduction of the Milner Schools, Great Britain made an active attempt to impose English-only education in South Africa. At these schools, Afrikaner children were prohibited from speaking their native language, Dutch. If any child was caught speaking Dutch on school grounds, they would be forced to stand in front of the class and chant: “I am a monkey, I spoke Dutch.”
The assault on Dutch (that later evolved into Kitchen Dutch and Afrikaans) was the key issue that Afrikaner Nationalists mobilized around before they took over power in South Africa in 1948. This experience of forced anglicization and humiliation intensified the growing nationalism. Afrikaners vowed to build their own schools, and to make their children “appreciate and love their language”. There was a concerted effort in the years leading up to The National Party taking power to want to translate every subject matter from English into Afrikaans as a means to escape colonial domination.
While not forgetting this history of strife, South Africa should also acknowledge the signs of cooperation. For example, in the early years of democratic rule, there was a genuine effort by several Afrikaans schools to introduce African languages into their curricula, anticipating that this would eventually become mandatory. For example, my primary school recruited a white teacher fluent in both Afrikaans and Sepedi, and we had several hours of mandatory lessons each week. Unfortunately, with the introduction of the Curriculum 2000 changes, multilingualism was sidelined in favor of English-only instruction, and Afrikaans was taught only where ‘the numbers’ justified it. As a result, South Africa missed a golden opportunity to enact supportive legislation during that period. Tragically, our teacher, Mr. Jordaan, who specialized in History and Sepedi, was retrenched when the government closed the door on multilingualism. We never heard of him again.
In 2001, Afrikaans was identified by Thabo Mbeki’s government as a potential source of conflict in South Africa. In response, Mbeki established the Gerwel Commission, led by Jakes Gerwel, a prominent anti-apartheid activist who predominantly wrote in Afrikaans. Historian Prof. Herman Giliomee notes that Gerwel made several recommendations to the South African government.
“The commission recommended that Afrikaans should be guaranteed as a medium of instruction at a minimum of two institutions. It proposed a statutory obligation for these institutions to promote Afrikaans “systematically” and “conscientiously” for scientific research and public communication, with annual reports to Parliament. Unfortunately, the Afrikaans vice-chancellors did not seize this opportunity.”
For historical accuracy, it is important to note that President Mbeki was willing to implement several of these recommended reforms, but the Afrikaans vice-chancellors could not reach consensus on which two universities—one in the north and one in the south—should remain Afrikaans-medium institutions. Thabo Mbeki’s sentiments were echoed by his predecessor, President Nelson Mandela, who also supported the establishment of an Afrikaans university. Mandela argued that among the 20 universities, there should be at least one dedicated to the development of Afrikaans.
Yet, despite these recommendations, few Afrikaans universities remain today, with Potchefstroom University being one of the notable exceptions offering courses in Afrikaans. Afrikaner organizations like Afriforum often invoke the promises of the Gerwel Commission, expressing a sense of betrayal over the lack of implementation—especially since both Mandela and Mbeki supported these commitments.
The BELA Bill currently introduced in Parliament fails to address the historical context of language issues in South Africa, which could lead to renewed conflict. Instead, the focus should shift to the recommendations of the Gerwel Commission. According to the Commission, the South African government should enact legislation that promotes multilingualism, requiring universities and schools to report to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee to justify their language policies. Establishing statutory requirements is essential for effective enforcement.
I would go further to suggest that the legislation also compels local and provincial governments to also contribute to this effort by promoting at least three languages based on their demographic composition. With advancements in artificial intelligence and modern computational linguistics, there is no longer an excuse for the “high costs” of translation.
Furthermore South Africa should consider consolidating its nine African languages into three language families—Nguni, Sotho, and Venda—while promoting a standardized written form. Collaborating with neighboring countries that speak these languages would help foster regional stability. Linguistic definitions should remain broad enough to prevent the marginalization of local dialects and variants.
If Afrikaans schools cannot justify their enrollment numbers, they should be encouraged to teach an African language alongside Afrikaans instead of switching to English only. Given that the African languages do not have the global reach of English, they will be perceived as less of a threat to Afrikaans. This approach would dispel the misconception that attachment to Afrikaans is rooted in racism or nostalgia for “the good old days”, ensuring that Black students—who may view Afrikaans as a barrier to entry—are included and encouraged to participate in the solution. A shared environment where children of different ethnicities play together would foster multilingualism while preserving their home languages and within a generation they would be fluent in at least 3 languages.
Finally, in line with the recommendations of the Gerwel Commission, former English-only medium schools should also reflect and not be allowed to maintain a monolingual education approach. As with Afrikaans schools, they too should fulfill their historical role and responsibility in promoting multilingualism in South Africa. They are under no threat, because English will undoubtedly retain its status as South Africa’s Lingua Franca and access to the wider world.
By implementing thoughtful legislation and striving for a reasonable compromise within the GNU, we could nurture a multilingual generation capable of communicating in their preferred languages within a decade.
The South African government has a unique opportunity to engage in the language debate, provided that the leadership is willing to acknowledge it as a source of conflict and open the discussion.
Above all, a leadership with strategic empathy is required to calm the emotions.
Read also:
- Three-month delay for implementation of Bela Bill but legal action still considered – Theuns Eloff
- 🔒 John Matisonn on DA, BELA bill – Bottom Line: GNU is secure for now
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Hügo Krüger* is a South African-born Civil and Nuclear Engineer. In 2011 he was on the Student Representative Council at the University of Pretoria and had the portfolio: multilingualism and culture. He speaks Afrikaans, German, French and English, while having a basic understanding of Sepedi and Farsi.
