The mandate of the CRL Rights Commission is to protect and to promote Cultural, Religious and Linguistic communities. It is against this mandate that the CRL Rights Commission acknowledges and recognises the use of all languages that are recognised by the Constitution of South Africa that warrants the protection and the promotion of human rights and dignity expressed through the use of indigenous languages of the country.
It is against this background that the Commission wishes our learners success in their endeavour to enrol for studies as they usher into the New Year. In April 2011 the CRL Rights Commission issued a statement supporting the Minister of Higher Education, Honourable (Hon) Blade Nzimande in the call of making it compulsory for learners to learn and study in African indigenous languages as a prerequisite to completing their under graduate studies.
In support of the Hon minister, the CRL Rights Commission took the call broadly to include our homes and the basic education level as strategic points whereby African languages and culture should be entrenched through to secondary education and beyond.
This step would give Section 30 of the Constitution a practical meaning that “everyone has the right to use the language and practice in the cultural life of their choice”. This is what got Afrikaans and English use to be as prominent official languages in South Africa.
The Commission appeals to institutions of learning to implement democratic values as entrenched in the Constitution of the Country. Among others the Commission would like see learning institutions introducing the diminishing and diminished indigenous heritage subjects, sports, games etc.
The current democratic dispensation allows respect of cultural and language rights and the rule of law that must be conceptualised by instilling a sense of worth to the youth that must start at home, to basic education and to the institutions of higher learning.
For more information contact:
Botle Letsebe
Communications and Marketing Officer
Cell 011 537 7625 or 079 238 1485
