Critics say a South African education bill on language in schools threatens new unity government

Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s second largest political party says an education bill that would give the government more control over white minority language schools is a threat to the country’s new government of national unity. The bill seeks to give the government the power to determine language and admission policies in schools. In the current arrangement, school governing bodies consisting mostly of parents and community leaders determine these. The Democratic Alliance and other critics describe the bill as a threat to single-language schools, particularly those in the Afrikaans language that is spoken mostly by the country’s white, minority Afrikaner population.