In 1974, the Minister of Bantu Education and Development issued a decree commonly known as the “Afrikaans medium decree” in which the use of both English and Afrikaans was made compulsory in black secondary schools. In this decree, physical science and practical subjects would be taught in English, mathematics and social science subjects would be taught in Afrikaans, and music and cultural subjects would be taught in the learner’s native language. The Minister said that the reason for this decree was to ensure that black people can communicate effectively with English and Afrikaans speaking white people. By 1877 some 60…