​​Dear Student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

I am thoroughly aware of the uncertainty created by the language interdict of Afriforum, which requires  us to strictly apply  the language specifications of the 2016 Yearbook from 29 March. What happens now to the principle that no student should be excluded on the basis of language? To address this uncertainty I would like to convey the following to you about the language practice that you can expect from 29 March in your classes.

There are two main points of departure that the Faculty will follow from 29 March, the first of which is demanded by the interdict:

• As of 29 March 2016 we have to strictly adhere  to the language specifications of the 2016 Yearbook (Afriforum court interdict, and the SU Council requirement not to reduce the Afrikaans offering).
• SU wants  to be 100% accessible to students that are not academically literate in Afrikaans and therefore all module content covered  in lectures will  also be available in English (SU Council resolution supporting  an increase of the English offering to 100%).

In practice this will entail the following:

• ​​Most Departments  will return to the conventional T-modules, with the proviso that this will be implemented with the utmost circumspection to ensure that no student is excluded on the basis of language of tuition. You will be informed at the beginning of the term and at the beginning of lectures about this intention and the two points of departure mentioned above, and also about what exactly will be done in each module in order to implement these points of departure.
• In order to ensure that all lectures are at least available in English, and that Afrikaans is available as specified in the 2016 Yearbook (50% or more), some Departments will provide extra lectures in Afrikaans and/or English.
• In cases where lecturers are only proficient in English, Departments will provide interpretation in Afrikaans, and/or extra lectures in Afrikaans.

​​Until such time as the Language Policy and Plan of the University  is  officially changed, we will have to live with these arrangements.  I will depend on your understanding and cooperation to help implement the abovementioned arrangements  with dignity and respect. 

I hope this letter will help allay any uncertainty, but if you have any further questions, please send an e-mail to Tanja Malan (tanja@sun.ac.za), who will convey it to me.

Kind regards

Johan Hattingh
Dean, 24 March 2016