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23 September 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa | Photo Charl Devenish
Best dressed winner
The winners of the best dressed social media competition with Earl B (third from the left).
On 18 September 2019, the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted its first ever Multilingual Festival in an effort to promote a multilingual and multicultural environment for staff, students, and all stakeholders of the university. 

Staff, students, and other stakeholders of the university dressed in imibaco (traditional Xhosa apparel) ranging from white, yellow, red, and green, Diaparo tsa setso sa Sesotho, and traditional attire from other cultural tribes including Zulu, Swati, Ndebele, and Tswana, to name a few, were treated to various forms of celebration. The festival entailed visual-art displays, poetry, storytelling, drama, music, and song in the dominant languages spoken at the UFS, which are English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, isiZulu, and South African Sign Language, and food stalls selling dishes ranging from pap and braaivleis to koeksisters and milk tart. 

The audience were treated to short stories, including Magic on campus, written by Siphilangenkosi Dlamini and performed by Oliver Bongo; Xola Nhliziyo, written by Noluthando Portia Khumalo and performed by Ayanda Khanyile; and Grense, written by Joane Jansen van Rensburg. Nina and Palesa compiled a drama piece titled WTF is a relationship, poems included Mohlomong, written by Thabiso Lesaba and Lucky Mokeona, and Mosadi, written by Relumetse Makhatsane, N’kone Mametja, Abby Gabarone-Phate and Ayanda Khanyile.

Attendants had the opportunity to participate and win cash prizes ranging from R500 to R1 000 in various competitions and performances that took place during celebrations at the multilingual festival.

The winners for the mokete festivities are as follows:
Best artwork – Elaine Mahlalela and Kamogelo Mankuroane
Best short story – Siphilangenkosi Dlamini: Magic on Campus
Best poem – Thabiso Leshaba: Mohlomong
Best drama piece – Nina and Palesa

The best-dressed moketers for the 2019 #KovsiesMultilingualMokete were Joseph Sako, Evodia Mohoanyane, Karabo Lekomanyane, Tshepo Ramokoatsi, and Lungelo Mthimkhulu, who each walked away with R500 for their efforts to dress up and stick to the multicultural theme. Soet-Bravado (House Soetdoring and House Villa Bravado) won the most votes for their performance in the People’s Choice category, claiming R1 000 each. 

News Archive

UFS welcomes Constitutional Court’s ruling on its Language Policy
2017-12-29



The executive management of the University of the Free State (UFS) welcomes today’s judgement by the Constitutional Court in favour of the university’s Language Policy. The judgement follows an appeal lodged by AfriForum against the judgement and order delivered by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on the implementation of the UFS Language Policy on 28 March 2017. 
 
In a majority ruling, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng denied AfriForum’s application for leave to appeal the SCA’s ruling, and said the UFS Council’s approval of the Language Policy was lawful and constitutionally valid. The court found that the adoption of the Language Policy was neither inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution, nor did it violate the Constitutional rights of any students and/or staff members of the UFS.
 
Today’s landmark judgement is not only paving the way for the UFS to continue with the implementation plan for its Language Policy as approved by the UFS Council on 11 March 2016, but it is also an indication of the value which the university’s decision to change its Language Policy to English as primary medium of instruction has on higher education in South Africa.
 
“The judgement by the Constitutional Court is not a victory against Afrikaans as language. The UFS will continue to develop Afrikaans as an academic language. A key feature of the UFS Language Policy is flexibility and the commitment to strive for a truly multilingual environment. Today’s judgement allows the UFS to proceed with the implementation of its progressive approach to a language-rich environment that is committed to multilingualism,” says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.
 
According to Prof Petersen, the UFS is dedicated to the commitments in the Language Policy and, in particular, to make sure that language development is made available to students in order to ensure their success as well as greater levels of academic literacy – especially in English. This includes contributing to the development of Sesotho and isiZulu as higher-education languages within the context of the needs of the different UFS campuses.
 
“We can now continue to ensure that language is not used or perceived as a tool for the social exclusion of staff and/or students on any of the three campuses, and continue to promote a pragmatic learning and administrative environment committed to and accommodative to linguistic diversity within the regional, national, and international environments in which the UFS operates,” says Prof Petersen.
 
The UFS is the first university in South Africa appearing before the Constitutional Court regarding its Language Policy. 
 
During 2017, the Faculties of Health Sciences, the Humanities, and Law started with the implementation of the new Language Policy at first-year level. This includes the presentation of tutorials in Afrikaans. The remaining faculties will start implementing the policy as from 2018.

Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Brand Management)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

Related articles:
UFS welcomes unanimous judgement about its Language Policy in the Supreme Court of Appeal (28 March 2017)
Judgement in the Supreme Court of Appeal about UFS Language Policy (17 November 2016)
Implications of new Language Policy for first-year students in 2017 (17 October 2016)
UFS to proceed with appealing to Supreme Court of Appeal regarding new Language Policy (29 September 2016)
UFS to lodge application to appeal judgment about new Language Policy (22 July 2016)
High Court ruling about new UFS Language Policy (21 July 2016)
UFS Council approves a new Language Policy (11 March 2016)

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