Deputy Minister, I will ask my question in Afrikaans, so if you want to use the translation, you can.
Afrikaans: Meer as die helfte van die agt miljoen inwoners van die Noord- en Wes-Kaap is Afrikaans. Met Stellenbosch Universiteit wat ook sedert 2016 slegs Engels is, bied al vier Kaapse universiteite nou slegs klasse in Engels aan. Gegewe wat u so pas ges het oor insluiting en dat taal nie moet uitsluit nie, waar moet die kinders van hardwerkende plaaswerkers en boere in die Kaap, van wie baie eenvoudig nie Engels kan praat of lees nie, studeer? Of, is die reg op hor onderwys nou amptelik slegs gereserveer vir Engelssprekendes? Dankie.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY: Without even having the information offhand, I think it will be disingenuous to suggest that non-English speakers who are mainly Afrikaans speakers are disadvantaged in the country, compared to all the other official languages. I think it is very disingenuous. [Interjections.]
English and Afrikaans are still the privileged languages in our institutions. [Interjections.] There is no doubt about that. Even though some of the institutions have moved and become dual medium, they still treat both English and Afrikaans as equal. Those institutions remain open and available to everyone. The contrast is the fact that, in the country, there is yet to be an institution of higher learning whose medium is predominantly or solely Venda, Sepedi, Setswana, Zulu, or any of those languages.
I think that is where we need to take this particular discussion, if you are really interested in inclusivity, which has no bias toward sectarianism, which is what I really think you are promoting. Thank you.