Higher Education and Training Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, has announced new measures to root out discrimination at tertiary institutions.

Briefing the media ahead of this Budget Vote in Parliament on Tuesday, the minister said his department has started a process of publishing the Social Inclusion Policy Framework.

Nzimande said all public educational institutions reporting to his department will have to abide by the good practices contained in the policy, which will be out for public comment soon.

“Vexing issues such as racism, discrimination based on gender, HIV/Aids and class will be confronted through this policy,” Nzimande said.

Sexism and racism are rife at some South African universities and transformation in the sector has also been painfully slow. This is according to the findings by the ministerial oversight committee on transformation in South African public universities, which was appointed by the Minister of Education in 2008.

Discrimination in the country’s public universities recently came under the spotlight when a group of North West University first-year students used the Nazi salute during an initiation ceremony.

In his inauguration speech, Zuma also noted many South Africans still bear the emotional scars arising from decades of apartheid divisions and hatred. But he noted that government is in the process of promoting nation building programmes to rebuild the soul of the nation as a whole.

Furthermore, Nzimande said the department will also develop a disability policy framework for the post-school sector.

“The framework will set norms and standards for the treatment of students and staff with disabilities in all aspects of university or college life, including academic life, culture, sport and accommodation.”