Zwelinzima Vavi Rejects Calls for Ethnic-Based Universities in South Africa
- Trade unionist Zwelinzima Vavi strongly opposed proposals for ethnicity-based universities after an activist publicly called for their creation
- Activist Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma's remarks came amid broader debate over Akademia, an Afrikaans-medium institution planning a new Pretoria campus by 2028
- Vavi warned that single-language or ethnic universities risk dividing South Africa along linguistic and territorial lines
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SOUTH AFRICA — South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has come out strongly against proposals to establish ethnicity-based universities in South Africa, calling the idea a threat to national unity.
Vavi's response on X was directed at activist and March and March movement leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, who publicly advocated for ethnic groups across the country to build their own dedicated universities. Her remarks emerged during ongoing public discussion about Akademia, an Afrikaans-medium higher education institution that has announced plans to build a new main campus in Pretoria by 2028. Her remarks also came after March and March planned to meet with AfriForum to discuss potential collaborations.
Vavi warns against "Balkanisation" of South Africa
Vavi argued that public universities are national institutions, built to serve all South Africans regardless of their language, ethnicity, or home province. He cautioned that proposals for single-language or ethnically defined institutions amount to an attempt to fragment the country into separate political and territorial enclaves drawn along linguistic boundaries.
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Drawing on South Africa's history, Vavi pointed to how colonial and apartheid governments weaponised ethnic segregation, Bantustans, and deliberate identity politics to divide the population. He maintained that those efforts ultimately failed to permanently fracture the country and expressed confidence that contemporary attempts to revive ethnic division would meet the same fate.
All languages belong to every citizen, says Vavi
The trade unionist further called for the defence of a united, non-racial, and democratic South Africa. He stressed that all 11 official languages, including isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Tshivenda, and Afrikaans, belong equally to every South African citizen and are not the exclusive property of any single ethnic group.Vavi concluded that no group holds sole ownership over a university, a province, or any portion of the country, reaffirming the constitutional principle that South Africa belongs to all who live in it.
Read the tweet on X here:
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In a related article, Briefly News reported on the University of Mpumalanga's rebuttal concerning allegations of favouring foreign nationals in its hiring practices. The controversy surrounds the hiring of 38 foreign academic staff, which has ignited intense public scrutiny and discussion on social media regarding local job seekers' equity.
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Source: Briefly News
