AfriForum says the reinstatement of Panyaza Lesufi as Gauteng education MEC is not good news for the Afrikaans community.

"It came as a big shock for us. We felt that the new MEC [Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko] was going to be a fresh breath of air for education in Gauteng. It’s bad that he [Lesufi] didn’t hide the fact that he isn’t fond of Afrikaans people," said Carien Bloem, AfriForum's project coordinator for education, on Friday.

"This is not good news for us. We feel targeted, you can also feel it when he speaks to the media, saying things like 'the Dromedaris days are over', we are left wondering what he means. He put a lot of pressure on Afrikaans."

Gauteng Premier David Makhura announced on Friday that he had reinstated Lesufi as education MEC.

Bloem said: "We are also concerned about some of the problems that Lesufi failed to address, such as the issue of mother tongue. It's a big problem that all education has to be in English. We feel strongly about our language, the same as anyone else about theirs.

"We can only hope that he will solve all the other problems and stop attacking Afrikaans. We need more schools, he must provide schools. He opened specialisation schools, so he must make that work too. And the glitches on the online application platform must be addressed, a lot of parents complained, not just Afrikaans but across the board," Bloem charged.

Makhura said he had been inundated with calls to reinstate Lesufi following his recent appointment as the MEC of finance and e-government.