The University of the Free State’s (UFS) parallel-medium language policy, with separate English and Afrikaans lectures, is derailing its efforts to become a non-racial institution, complains an audit report of the Council for Higher Education.
The audit panel made a site visit in October 2006, but UFS started its self-evaluation process much earlier.
Problems listed by the council’s quality committee, whose report was approved a few weeks ago, include:
- Afrikaans-speaking lecturers have poor English skills.
- Exam papers are poorly translated from Afrikaans to English, putting black students at a disadvantage.
- Class schedules favour Afrikaans-speakers.
The university’s rapid growth — from about 9 300 students in 1990 to 24 650 in 2005 — transformed it from a white Afrikaans institution to a parallel-medium university with a majority of African students.
The audit report underlines the “unforeseen negative” influence of its language policy on the recruitment, integration and retention of black academics and the racial divisions among students, socially and in residences.
It highlights the influence of the language policy on learning and teaching, including the poor English skills of Afrikaans lecturers and assessment practices.
It warns that discrepancies in the translation of papers “could have far-reaching consequences in an environment where black students already perceive Afrikaans students as being favoured by class schedules”, and urges the university to rectify this.
Reacting, UFS said it was already addressing these concerns at the time of the audit and that its new approach was captured in its 2007-2010 transformation strategy.
Willem Malherbe, registrar of strategic planning, said UFS has conducted a cross-faculty study aimed at pinpointing problems in its language policy.
As a result, it had approved classroom interpreting system for specific modules where a lecturer had unique expertise but lacked the necessary language competency.
Simultaneous interpretation would begin next year for 851 Âperiods in modules across faculties, while interpreting services are also available to residences and across UFS’s academic and support services.
The 2009 budget to promote multiÂlingualism is R2,4-million.
Malherbe said UFS has introduced projects that target white staff, older whites and young black staff, aimed at enhancing social interaction, sensitising council members, staff and students to diversity, and building a sense of belonging among staff affected by transformation.
The university changed the policy last year to bring about greater racial diversity in its residences. Ironically, this triggered the white backlash, culminating in the shocking initiation video made last September by students in the Reitz men’s residence.
This week the university indicated that its new policy has had “mixed results”, with diversity targets not yet met in all the residences.
“Resistance from students is still unacceptably high, while the Reitz video incident played its part in complicating matters,” said Malherbe.
UFS has appointed an external agency, iGubu, to help implement its integration policy.