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Blacks Demand Reform in South Africa’s Education System

by Mondli Makhanya from Johannesburg
***South African schools have bein symbols of apartheid, in which the government has offered blacks an inferior education. Even now the expenditure on black and white education is widening. Educationists are asking to divert the expenditure from white to black education and the merger of the country's 16 education departments — one for every tribal homeland. However, the legacy of apartheid education will continue to harm the youth of South Africa.
THIS year may finally see something done about South Africa's deepening education crisis. Following disastrous results for final year high school students, politicians and educationists feel that urgent measures need to be taken to resolve the crisis.
An education summit Involving all the country s political, educational and business leaders is now being mooted. It has also been planned (hat education be placed high on the agenda of the Convention for a Demo cratic South Africa (CODESA) which is negotiating the country's future political system.
Although the pass rate was slightly higher than last year. Il brought nobody any comfort. Only 40 per cent of about 230.000 students who sat final year examinations last year, passed. Worse. 28.000 of those who passed met the minimum requirements for university entrance. Compared to the higher than 90 per cent pass rates achieved in white, coloured and Indian education departments, this failure rate is alarming.
As in previous years, politicians have attempted to lump the blame on each other. Predictably — and correctly — most of the blame went to the apartheid policies. The government has offered blacks an inferior education. In subsequent years, government expenditure on black and white education widened. At present about five times more is spent on white children than on black children. The professional standard of teachers in black schools is also poor as they arc themselves products
of the same discriminatory education system.
Although the government's education policy lias changed somewhat In recent years, apartheid education haslcft Its sad legacy.
It has made government schools symbols of apartheid and during the township upris Ings of the late 1970s and early 1980s. schools were
among the first targets to be attacked by frustrated block youths.
School boycott came to be seen as a legitimate weapon in the fight against apartheid. A popular slogan among I he militant youth during the mid-1980s uprising was ’'Liberation Now Education Later."
While they pinpoint the government as the culprit, they themselves liave not been absolved of the blame. Radical student groups encouraged the school boycott during critical periods throughout the year. In some schools, pupils even prevented school inspectors from entering the premises, and in some Instances gone to the extent of expelling teachers and principals.
So while accusations and counter-accusations arc traded, a realisation of the effects of continued high
failure is beginning to sink in to all parties Those wImi failed outright and others who will be unable to find a place al a university will face the prospect of joblessness for at least the nest few years.
The economy ts ’ nearly stagnant, with growth a mi nuscule 1.5 per cent. Economists have predicted that less than 10 per cent of
people coming onto the Job market can be absorbed into the formal sector.
This scenario in a society where unemployment levels arc as high as 40 per cent is frightening especially In view of escalating crime. Recent figures indicate that a large percentage of unemployed are under the age of 30 — the group that has been responsible for the country’s spiral of erime during the past two years.
Fears have therefore been expressed that if the education system continues to churn out unemployable people, it will, just exacerbate an already high crime rate.
Hence the planned national education summit towards the end of February. Hie Idea of an
education summit emanates from the Joinl Working Group, a group of academics assembled by ANC president Nelson Mandela when he went to meet the government over the educ ation crista early last year
The National Education Coordinating Committee — originally formed to fight against apartheid education — Is undertaking a "Back to learning" campaign which will encourage "effective" learning in schools. Tills will entail extra tuition for pupils at community centres countrywide.
For Its part, the government Is proceeding with the piecemeal deraciallsation of education. Under the state's deraciallsation drive, parents al white schools vote on what status their schools should assume. Those range from remaining pure white to becoming partially integrated (under which prospective black pupils undergo aptitude tests), to going private and becoming 100 per cent integrated.
Pressure is also being put on the government to Increase education expenditure. Given the economic difficulties in which Pretoria finds itself this may not be possible. Already, the -country's education expenditure is quite high at 5.5 per cent of the GDP. The World Bank has advised the government that this is too high for a developing nation.
Anti-apartheid organisations and educationists are asking for diverting the expenditure from white to black education and the merger of the country's 16 education departments (one each for every tribal homeland). This will certainly help to save milltons of rands currently being ploughed Into multiple administrations.
But this is a matter for CODESA to sort out. On this forum's agenda Is the reIncorporation of the "Independent" homelands into South Africa and the total scraping of the homeland system.
While long speeches arc read at the summit and politicians haggle It out In CODESA. South Africa's annual carnival of disaster will be tn progress in classrooms countrywide. Thousands of black pupils will be turned away from township schools because there 1s no space — as has already happened.
Disruptions will continue and South Africa will n lcase yet another set of frus-Iraled youths onto Its streets.
— (OEM IN I NEWS)
MontHl Makhanya ts a re/torter with the Weekhi Mali of Johannesburg.