Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande's proposal for students to learn an African language to qualify for a degree has caused a storm.

Comments from various stakeholders have seen a significant retreat to both racial and political comfort zones.

With the local government elections in just over a month on everyone's minds, opinions took a friendly or radical turn, depending on who the intended recipient was.

Freedom Front Plus general secretary Piet Uys cited the escalating use of English in former Afrikaans-medium universities such as the University of Johannesburg and University of the Free State as cause for concern.

"Our issue with the whole (language) situation since 1993 is that we are going to lose Afrikaans universities. Our call is that there needs to be at least two Afrikaans universities where the language is the main medium of instruction.

"Right now, that ideal is slipping through our fingers and this is upsetting," Uys said.

Uys said he would be seeking re-election as a councillor and vowed to fight for the survival of Afrikaans. He emphasised that he was not opposed to other African languages but warned against the cost of implementing the minister's plan, saying it would be expensive to train teachers and implement the languages as mediums of instruction.

AfriForum youth leader Charl Oberholzer shot down any possible success of Nzimande's plan.

"We don't see how the minister's plan will succeed," he said.

"Afrikaans can't even survive in tertiary institutions, so this makes it difficult to see any other African language flourishing."

Oberholzer said he supported the equality of all languages, but some students would see the plan as an attempt to further marginalise Afrikaans, adding: "This is one feeling the minister cannot ignore."

Both Uys and Oberholzer said it would be best to implement the language policy at Grade 1 level.

Pan South African Language Board acting chief executive Chris Swepu said on Tuesday "White people have been in the country for more than 300 years but are still not willing to learn our languages. The government must make it policy that if you want a government job, you have to know an African language."

South African Institute of Race Relations' Ashwin Pienaar said Nzimande's comments should be "welcomed", adding that the debate surrounding the plan was "progressive" and is one that must be had.

He was however less optimistic about the feasibility of the plan at tertiary level.