Since Independence Afrikaans lost its status as offi cial language. However, it is still used as
lingua franca in parts of the country. In some schools Afrikaans is used as medium of instruction
and also off ered as a subject from grade 1 to 12. The purpose of this presentation is to analyse
enrolment data regarding Afrikaans as captured in the Education Ma na gement Information
System of the Ministry of Education in Namibia. An attempt will be made to ascertain whether
any patterns regarding the enrolment of Afrikaans fi rst and second language can be found.
In conclusion, some remarks on the future of Afrikaans as school sub ject, also set against the
proposals for a revised language policy for schools, will be made. EMIS is a useful tool that
could be used by researchers and educationalists to document and discuss developments in
the education sector, e.g. enrolment, teacher qualifi cations and phy si cal facilities.