AfriForum protests racial classification policies

Lara

Oosthuizen

On 8 March, AfriForum Jeug organised a protest on campus against the University of Pretoria’s racial classification policies. The group submitted a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) demanding that the university release the usage of the racial classification data to the public. PDBY explores and investigates.

Who is AfriForum Jeug and why does the issue matter?

AfriForum Jeug is an Afrikaans group focused primarily on promoting the rights of young Afrikaans speakers. However, in this matter, they were fighting for the rights of all young South Africans. René van der Vyver, spokesperson for AfriForum Jeug, stated that they believe “the abolition of racial classification will benefit all South Africans because young people should be selected for study opportunities and bursaries on the basis of merit, and not on the basis of skin colour”.

The protest, and when to expect feedback from universities

The protest started at 09:30, with members of AfriForum gathering at the Piazza and marching to the Admin building where they submitted the physical PAIA application and they submitted a PAIA application to all public universities of South Africa but, according to Van der Vyver, only had a physical submission on the UP campus “to demonstrate the nationwide submission of the PAIA application on public universities’ racial classification policies”. AfriForum expects to receive feedback from all public universities on 8 April, as universities have 30 days to respond to the submission of the PAIA application.

Thoughts from students outside: AfriForum’s main target demographic

When asked, non-Afrikaans students said that they felt uncomfortable that an Afrikaans group is dealing with this matter. Mapule Shai said, “We can see how the classification is seen as an outdated and archaic application, as we are all studying at a diverse university and equal society.” Both Shai and Kiarra Ephraim referred to the “statistical merit” of racial classification and its “benefit of appropriate resource allocation to each racial group”. Ephraim said, “We need to remember that racial classification is a useful tool in correcting the wrongs of the past, as people of colour have been at a disadvantage and have not had access to the same level of education or opportunities as opposed to Afrikaans speakers”. Abolishment of universities’ racial classification policies will hinder their ability to help the students that they need to classify.”