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The civil rights group AfriForum and trade union Solidarity welcomed the Constitutional Court’s decision to deny with costs the application by the management of the University of the Free State (UFS) to appeal directly to this court with regard to the university’s language policy. On 21 July 2016, the Bloemfontein High Court set aside the decision by the university’s Senate and Council on a language policy that would phase out Afrikaans as primary language of instruction. The UFS management tried to apply directly to the Constitutional Court to appeal this decision.

According to Johan Kruger, Deputy Chief Executive of Solidarity, the UFS will now have to apply to the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal. “The issue is of major importance with regard to language rights and therefore it is important that it should be argued at all levels in the lower courts,” Kruger said.

Alana Bailey, Deputy Chief Executive of AfriForum, confirmed that the organisation’s legal team was ready for the appeal. “Nonetheless, it is tragic that the UFS management is stubbornly continuing with the case despite the court’s clear ruling that the new language policy was discriminating and would deter students from applying to study at this institution.”

This judgment was the third victory for AfriForum and Solidarity in the fight against the management’s decision to implement an unconstitutional language policy.

Solidarity and AfriForum is urgently appealing to all prospective Afrikaans students at the UFS to indicate clearly in their applications that they want to study in Afrikaans. Then the university must take note of the demand for Afrikaans as language of instruction and by making this choice, Afrikaans students will be able to show how strongly they feel about their right to mother tongue education.

See court order attached.

Issued by Solidarity and Afriforum