'You will regret it': Tito Mboweni on university scrapping Afrikaans

Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni has received backlash for opposing UP's decision to scrap Afrikaans.
Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni has received backlash for opposing UP's decision to scrap Afrikaans.
Image: ESA ALEXANDER/SUNDAYTIMES

Finance minister Tito Mboweni ruffled feathers after tweeting that he disagrees with the removal of Afrikaans as a medium language of instruction at the University of Pretoria. 

As of 2019, English is the medium language of teaching for all first-year classes at the university after AfriForum Youth and Solidarity lost a high court battle in 2016 to challenge the language policy.

Former University of the Witwatersrand vice-principal Tawana Kupe took up his position as the first black vice-chancellor at the University of Pretoria, placing racial transformation of academic staff at the centre of his agenda.

Mboweni’s tweet triggered much debate and responses, as the minister firmly stood by his opinion 


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