Cape Town - The DA says it will table a motion of no confidence on Stellenbosch University Vice-Chancellor Professor Wim de Villiers after the Human Rights Commission released its findings about complaints that students at the university were being prevented from communicating in Afrikaans.
This comes after the SAHRC found that the university violated students’ rights when it prevented the use of the Afrikaans and allegedly only permitted the use of English in certain residences.
The release of the report follows after the DA and FF Plus laid a complaint with the SAHRC in March 2021.
The report further said: “Requiring or even asking students in one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in our country to all speak the same language when they first arrive at their new university residence was always going to have severely negative results.”
The Commission’s remedial action proposed that de Villiers should issue a written public apology to the students who were negatively affected by the residence policies.
“This apology must make clear that the respondent recognises that SU is responsible for the conduct and policies of its residences and the human rights violations found by the Commission to have been perpetrated herein, and SU undertakes to ensure that residences do not implement any policies or practices in future that will require any student to, or prevent any student from, speaking a particular language in residences.”
DA spokesperson Leon Schreiber, who also sits on the SU Council, said he had already written to the SAHRC to inform the Commission that De Villiers is in contempt of the remedial action directed by the Chapter 9 institution.
“We have requested the Commission to consider instituting legal action against De Villiers over his defiance,” he said.
Schreiber said he had tabled an urgent motion of no confidence against De Villiers over the rights abuses.
Meanwhile, de Villiers said he had already apologised.
“I am on record as having apologised to anyone who may have been negatively affected by these incidences.”
He further repeated that If there were students who were instructed not to use Afrikaans in a social context, it was wrong.
He also said that SU remained committed to advancing human rights, multilingualism and inclusiveness for all its students, staff and stakeholders and it was evolving to emphasise this mindset and compliance with the SU Language Policy.
IOL