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Jacob Zuma Education Trust News

Address by President Jacob Zuma on the occasion of the Jacob Zuma Education Trust Gala Dinner marking his 68th Birthday hosted by the Leon H Sullivan Foundation Mandarin Hotel

13 April 2010, Washington

The Chairman of the Leon H Sullivan Foundation, Ambassador Andrew Young;The President and CEO of the Foundation, Ms Hope Masters;
Ministers of International Relations, State Security and Energy from South Africa,
Distinguished Guests;

Let me begin by thanking you for the very kind welcome we have received from all of you here in Washington.

I have not had sufficient opportunity to personally thank all Americans, and African Americans in particular, for their support in our efforts to overcome racial tyranny and build a democratic South Africa.

I am pleased that this opportunity has arisen today, at an event held under the auspices of an institution dedicated to Reverend Leon Sullivan, a man who embodied the solidarity and dedicated action that brought about freedom in South Africa.

We are grateful that we may continue to derive benefit from his legacy through this very important foundation. I am certain that your role in encouraging dialogue with Africa will strengthen the bonds forged through the work of people like Reverend Sullivan. In career spanning a nearly half a century of activism, from the Civil Rights Movement to the United Nations, the Chairman of the Foundation, Ambassador Andrew Young, has distinguished himself as a friend of South Africa and all of Africa.

I am also proud to call him a personal friend. We are particularly grateful for what he has done to promote the Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust and the cause of education in South Africa.

Dear friends,

Your continuing passion for South Africa and the development of its people and economy is shared by President Barrack Obama. He never ceases to emphasise his ongoing support and willingness to play a positive role in assisting the socio-economic development of the continent.




Ladies and gentlemen,

The Jacob Zuma RDP Education Trust Fund has educated more than 20 000 children, mainly from very humble backgrounds, including orphans and vulnerable children. It is a modest, but I believe important, effort to provide opportunities to poor and vulnerable children. I realise that you can hardly wait to listen to the mighty Temptations. So allow me to present you with a very short list of birthday wishes. My main birthday wish is that we achieve without delay, the goal of quality education for all the world?s children. Education is the key to genuine freedom. Education is the most tangible and sustainable form of empowerment.

That is why we have associated ourselves with the international One Goal campaign, which is using the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a means to mobilise support for a global effort to ensure education for all. We are pleased to be able to host a summit of leaders, footballers and prominent personalities to coincide with the World Cup in June. As we work to build a global campaign for education, we continue with our efforts to improve the situation of children at home.

We over the past 15 years worked hard to widen access to education, especially of the poorest of the poor. We are doing this because in building a new South Africa, our children must be one of our highest priorities. They are the foundation on which our future is being built. We had to prioritise education because of our history. It was used by successive apartheid regimes as an instrument of subjugation.

Colonialists and the architects of apartheid used education to produce people who could only undertake menial labour, who could not be decision makers in the land of their birth. As the apartheid architect, Hendrik Verwoerd said, apartheid education was designed to make black people fit to be hewers of wood and drawers of water only. We are now working to reverse that legacy through making education an instrument of liberating the mind.

It must give us scores of young men and women who would take our country to greater heights through achievements in all key disciplines - from science and technology to the humanities, agriculture, engineering, law, economics and a host of others. By investing in this campaign for quality education, you are therefore taking your role in the struggle against apartheid a step further. You are putting your money into the education of poor South African children, and helping to build a brighter future. While government is doing the best it can, and we continue to invest in education, there is still a role for our friends to work with us to expand access. We cannot do it alone.

Dear Friends,

Let me share my second birthday wish.

Fifty years ago, as other countries of Africa were celebrating their independence, South Africa was experiencing great pain. Last month, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Sharpeville and Langa massacres and on April 1st the banning of the ANC and other organisations. It took another 30 years of bitter struggle before we could celebrate the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, the unbanning of the peoples? organisations and the return of exiles. All of this led to the establishment, in 1994, of a free and democratic South Africa. This could not have been achieved without your principled stand and committed action.

We continue to draw strength from the selfless actions of the global anti-apartheid movement. We now look to that same spirit of human solidarity and determined struggle to complete the liberation of the continent. Let us commit ourselves tonight to draw on our shared achievements of the past to work together to build a better Africa. This year, seventeen African countries will be marking the 50th anniversary of their independence. With independence came huge challenges. Many African countries were faced with problems like civil war, famine, economic underdevelopment, and political strife.

It is important that we celebrate the great strides that we have achieved as a continent, while recognising the challenges that still remain as we strive towards the realisation of a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa. In many African countries, the guns are silent and work is underway towards a lasting peace. In many others, the attainment of peace is no longer the issue. These countries are now focused on enhancing their democratic institutions, improving the climate for investment, and boosting economic capacity. This situation gives us confidence that we are on the right path towards a better Africa. This must motivate us to make an even greater effort to resolve those conflicts that still continue.

We need to intensify our work to bring peace and lasting stability to places like Somalia, Sudan, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As South Africa, we have always maintained that our future is closely tied to the future of our neighbours. South Africa cannot thrive and develop as long as our neighbours in Southern Africa and further afield on the continent still struggle with poverty and underdevelopment.

That is a principle that applies to international relations more broadly. The developed nations of the North have realised that sustaining their prosperity and stability requires the improvement of the conditions of the peoples of the South.

All humanity shares a common destiny.

That is why South Africa remains deeply engaged in the political and economic revival of Southern Africa and the continent as a whole. It is also why we are keenly interested to participate in global processes around climate change, trade negotiations, financial governance reform, and nuclear security and disarmament. It is in pursuit of these goals ? on the continent and across the globe ? that we see the United States as a crucial partner.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This evening`s events are a spectacular declaration that a new alliance is in the making, to make us achieve this wish of a better Africa through working together. Eminent Americans are once more reaching out across the ocean to join hands with South Africans. I am very proud to be associated with so generous a movement, and I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation at being able to associate my birthday with these efforts. Ladies and gentlemen, I would be amiss if I were not to find time to congratulate the American soccer team and the American people for the heroic manner in which you qualified for the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

All the arrangements are in place and we are satisfied that we will delivery a successful, secure and very exciting soccer tournament. We look forward to receiving your team and supporters on our shores. With six African teams participating in this spectacle, we want to ensure that the trophy remains on African soil for the first time in history. We intend to work very hard to ensure that it happens. The American team should expect a very fierce South African side on the pitch. We have agreed with President Obama that the final will be between South Africa and the United States! My third and last wish is a simple one: it is that you and your guests enjoy this evening as much as I have.

No doubt you are aware of my love for music and dance. In truth, although it may be derived from our African music, American music has always played an important role in our struggles as well as our social lives. Music unites. It celebrates people, their diversity, and their humanity. That is why I am delighted to be able to share this evening with one of the all time greats of our time, the Temptations. That is why I am delighted to be able to share this evening with all of you, who have each played such an important role in bringing hope, music and harmony to the lives of our people. Let our joint passion for music, the socio-economic development of the African continent and for the education of the African child unite us even deeper this evening.

Before I conclude let me thank all who have made this evening possible, especially Ms Hope Masters who worked tirelessly with the Education Trust.

I thank you all for your generosity and support.

The Southern Times

FEATURE

Vocational education 

the guide for Africa

By Staff Reporter on 22nd July 2016No Comments

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

Vocational education and training is clearly the answer for most students who cannot enter the university system.

That is why experts have in the past urged students to consider private colleges and further education and training (FET) institutions as a viable option for gaining a tertiary education.

Among them are quality institutions offering courses that address the economic needs of the country. Many colleges have a higher ratio of graduates placed directly into related employment.

In 2012, Sharene Menteath, Head of Academics at CTI Education Group, noted, “CTI Information Systems graduates are employed at the same level as university graduates, but require only one year of study and are likely to have earned an additional R100 000 before their university counterparts graduate.”

Founded in 1979, CTI formed a partnership with the private university, Midrand Graduate Institute (MGI) in 2006.

CTI, formerly known as the Computer Training Institute broadened its horizon with this and various other partnerships to include not only computer-related education but also other fields like accounting, commerce, graphic design, law and psychology.

And the human capital group, Adcorp, previously announced that the country faced shortages of highly skilled personnel in senior management, professionals in the medicine, engineering, accounting and law fields, technical occupations requiring technicians and artisans, as well as occupations in the agriculture industry.

Adcorp had calculated that the economy faces a shortage of 432 100 technicians, 216 200 managers and 178 400 professionals.

Ian Yoell, Regional Director of Edexcel Southern Africa, also commented: “Private colleges and FET institutions are well placed to positively impact the skills shortage that threatens our economy.

“Many of these institutions are delivering quality career-orientated qualifications – courses designed to prepare graduates for the workplace that include critical on the job training.

“Valuable qualifications from private colleges and FET institutions may help to ensure that a greater proportion of South Africa’s learners become independent, self-sufficient contributors to a sustainable economy.”

Credible private colleges such as the CTI Education Group offer nationally and internationally recognised diploma and degree courses in faculties including: information and technology, commerce, law and social sciences, and creative art and communications.

These qualifications offer many benefits to students keen to either enter the job market or continue to study for a higher degree at leading universities.

“The commerce faculty provides students with the opportunity to interact with experts in the field through their guest lecturer programme.

“Most degrees also offer an internship during the third year of study thereby exposing students to the workplace before graduating and starting their careers.

“CTI assists students with these valuable internship placements,” continued Menteath.

Vocational studies offered by private colleges and FET institutions are vitally important to the success of our economy and should be regarded as a viable study option.

With the South African Department of Education now in full support of private colleges and FET institutions an increase in quality establishments is expected.

Yoell concluded: “Young South Africans should thoroughly investigate all study options before ruling out any one course of tertiary education.

“International accreditation provided by Edexcel through private colleges and FET institutions can open many doors both locally and internationally.”

Edexcel, a Pearson company, s the UK’s largest awarding organisation offering academic and vocational qualifications and testing to schools, colleges, employers and other places of learning in the UK and internationally.

The company operates in more than 100 countries with 9 million examination scripts completed every year.

The company also designs course material that is modern, relevant and meets demands of worldwide employers and industry.

South African partners include CTI Education Group, Prestige College, COPA (contemporary music college) and Northlink (performing arts) private colleges, among others.

Earlier in 2012, Edexcel announced it was also teaming up with the Government of South Africa’s Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).

According to research by the Durban-based PC Training and Business College (PCT&BC), the demand for the provision of private higher and further education and training in South Africa has increased significantly since the advent of democracy in 1994.

“There is as a consequence of the traditional universities experiencing marked over-subscriptions, resulting in students not being accepted as well as in less favourable academic staff to student ratios. The changing face of education, coupled with geographical factors in South Africa has also contributed to a demand for distance education also referred to as Open Distance Learning (ODL).”

ODL is an approach to education, which removes all the unnecessary barriers imposed on learning through location and work constraints.

This allows as many people as possible to take advantage of meaningful learning opportunities throughout their lives.

As an accepted and indispensable part of the mainstream of educational systems in both developed and developing countries, ODL has proved its worth by enabling any prospective student to register and study for a qualification at their own pace, in their own place in their own time. There are over 70 accredited private providers of distance higher education in South Africa who are registered with the Department of Education of which about 40 percent have provisional accreditation.

In a recent overview of distance learning it was reported that 85 percent of the higher education students that were studying through distance education were registered with South Africa’s only single mode institution, the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Considering that over the last 10 years in South Africa 40 percent of higher education enrolments, on average, have been for distance learning, it is imperative that higher learning institutions adopt ODL and offer relevant up to date course content utilising technology where possible.

And the PCT&BC, with over 70 campuses nationally, has been proactive in meeting these demands. As an education provider at the forefront of technology in South Africa, PC Training & Business College has introduced the Mobile Learning Academy (MLA), extending the opportunity of education to many more prospective students, including those that are currently employed. In 2013, PCT&BC Chief Executive Officer, Jay Ramnundall, explained, “We began implementing our strategy of making learning available to more potential learners, be they students, employers or those currently employed by introducing the Tablet in late 2011.

Besides the obvious environmental benefits of using less paper in the learning process, the tablet allows learners to access material wherever they have internet access.

The next logical step in the process has been to create a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), which is currently in progress.”

Ramnundall also stated, “Our strategy brings us in line with the recent comments by the Minister of Higher Education & Training, Blade Nzimande, where he called for colleges to be open for longer hours and on weekends in order to accommodate the working class. Our registration with the Department of Higher Education as a Private Higher Education Institution under the Higher Education Act 1998, where we are now fully accredited to provide courses in Open Distance Learning makes us available to this sector”.

An ever-increasing number of higher education institutions are transforming themselves from single mode to dual mode institutions, recognizing the importance of distance education in providing students with the best and most up-to-date educational resources available in addition to the traditional teaching methods that they receive.

Ranmundalall further explained, “If the fundamental right of all people to access learning is to be realised, we need to move towards e-learning methods such as open distance learning, affording everyone an opportunity to quality education.”

When questioned about the main factors that were considered in the implementation of Open Distance Learning, Ramnundall went on to say, “It is the growing need for continual skills upgrading, retraining and the technological advances that have made it possible to teach more and more subjects at a distance”.

According to the census statistics 2011, more than 50 percent of people in South Africa now have access to the Internet from home. This generates massive opportunity for individuals who previously could not access institutions of higher learning owing to geographical or work restraints.

Director of the ODL at PCT&BC, Professor Ahmed Sadeq Adam added, “Over the years, the approach to teaching, methodologies, technology and content have changed substantially to incorporate international standards in teaching and learning.

“The use of e-learning, m-learning and v-learning techniques have opened new doors to the way we teach and learn and these modes of technological advancement take us to a whole new level of teaching and learning.”

Professor Adam has identified the advantages of the Mobile Learning Academy to the various sectors as follows: for the student/learner, MLA means increased access and flexibility as well as the combination of work and education. It may also mean a more learner-centred approach, enrichment, higher quality and new ways of interaction.

For employers it offers high quality and more efficient ways cost effective professional development in the workplace. It allows upgrading of skills, increased productivity and development of a new learning culture. In addition, it means sharing of costs, of training time, and increased portability of training.

The currently employed an opportunity to improve their skills, offers a great degree of flexibility to earn while you earn and self-improvement.

And for governments the main potential is to increase the capacity and cost effectiveness of education and training systems, to reach target groups with limited access to conventional education and training, to support and enhance the quality and relevance of existing educational structures, to ensure the connection of educational institutions and curricula to the emerging networks and information resources, and to promote innovation and opportunities for lifelong learning.

With the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the move towards more knowledge-intensive, interdependent and internationalized societies this creates new challenges and opportunities for the design and delivery of education.

It is clear that private colleges are necessary in assisting the government to provide potential students an alternative to means to accessing education. The globalisation of ODL provides many opportunities for developing countries for the realisation of their education system-wide goals and opens up new horizons for progress and the exchange of creativity and intercultural dialogue.

Meanwhile, Hisense’s commitment to training new employees does not end there. Once the current programme is concluded, new workplaces skills planning (WSP) programme will be submitted to skills education training authority MERSETA by the end of April, and following this, will begin in May 2016.

Plastics SA is an accredited training provider, registered with the MERSETA, which enables Hisense to qualify for both mandatory and discretionary grants. While mandatory grants are smaller monthly grants, the discretionary grant is the larger one, but this is subject to a current audit.

Plastics SA offers a strong and diverse line-up of learning skills programmes ranging from skills that do not fit into the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) qualifications all the way up to NQF Level 4 and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment on NQF Level 5.

These include thermoplastic welding (butt, hot air, electrofusion welding) and principles of quality (NQF level 2), up to the fabrication of polymer composite parts and manufacturing and assembly operations supervision (NQF Level 4). Plastics¦SA was also able to source courses that it did not facilitate, as per Hisense’s needs.

Last month, in a landmark empowerment partnership deal, Sphere Holdings (Sphere) will acquire a 22.5 percent stake in Pearson South Africa Proprietary Limited (Pearson South Africa). The Sphere transaction together with the Pearson Marang Education Trust’s 2.5 percent holding raises Pearson South Africa’s black ownership level to 25 percent.

Pearson South Africa is a subsidiary of Pearson plc, the world’s largest education company. Sphere is an established black-owned and managed investment holding company with a highly successful track record as an active long term investor in local and multinational companies providing critical infrastructure, and social and industrial goods and services to South and Southern Africa.

Meanwhile, the Steve JobsSchools have recently been recognised as the ‘Most Innovative Schools in the World’ by US-based TechInsider magazine.

This is why it is incredible to see that two Steve JobsSchools were launched in South Africa and Africa on 23 June 2016.

The Steve JobsSchools are known for embracing the latest technologies in education and learning.

The Internationally acclaimed Steve JobsSchool model is based on every child having an independent learning plan (ILP), centred on their own way of learning, their strengths and choices. The school is available 24/7 and the learning plan, educational programmes and educational apps are accessed from the learners’ smart devices and supported by special workshops, experiments and projects at school.

The concept is based on the drivers of choice, collaboration and challenge, coupled with innovative technologies to develop personalised learning.  In addition, the Steve JobsSchool are geared to equip learners with the skills they will need for 2025 and beyond.

Kha Ri Gude 'Let Us Learn' Adult Literacy Programme Wins UNESCO Award

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

The Kha Ri Gude (Let Us Learn) Adult Literacy Programme (KGALP) which is an initiative of the Government of South Africa is the winner of the 2016 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Literacy Award.

Kha Ri Gude which means 'Let Us Learn' is Tshivenda, and now facilitated  by the  Department of Basic Education (DBE), was born in February 2008 after a 2006 study by the Ministerial Committee on Literacy  established that about 9.6 million adults or 24% of the entire adult population aged over 15 years were functionally illiterate. 

The study noted, "Of these, 4.7 million could not read or write (i.e. had never attended school) while 4.9 million were barely literate having dropped out of formal school before completing primary education.

The study also revealed, "The rate of adult illiteracy was significantly higher in non-white communities and among women, a pattern which partly reflected the negative effect of apartheid-era segregationist policies with regards to the provision of social services including education as well as socio-cultural practices which tend to promote the education of male over female children."

According to SA government the continued prevalence of adult illiteracy and its negative effect on development and social transformation prompted the government of South Africa to institute the Kha Ri KGALP in February 2008.

The 2016 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign was handed over at a ceremony held in Paris on Thursday, 8 September 2016.

The Campaign further aims to equip adults above the age of 15 years to become literate and numerate in one of the 11 official languages. 

And achieving this goal would enable South Africa to reach its UN: Education For All Commitment made at Dakar in 2000, namely that of halving the country's illiteracy rate by 2015.

With the UNESCO award it shows that South Africa is on the right track.

South Africa could have been miles ahead in its mission of educating all its people if a programme like KGALP was instituted immediately after liberation in 1994.

However,  it can not be ignored that since the end of apartheid in 1994, in it's commitments to promote universal access to education and eradicate illiteracy among adults, the SA government had  instituted a number of educational programmes like the Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) programme and the South African National Literacy Initiative (SANLI) in 2000.

With millions of black South Africans deprived of educational opportunities during the apartheid era, the SA government still faces tough battles in the transformation and development of South Africa with high rates of unemployment at over 26% in a country of 55 million people and inequalities threatening the stability of the 22 year old democracy. 

Meanwhile, through the campaign recruited volunteers who make up the thousands of community-based coordinators, supervisors and educators are engaged to run the literacy courses every year since KGALP started.

The volunteers teach at community-based learning centres across the South Africa and at informal venues such as local churches, backyards and at times even bus-shelters.

The Southern Times

GENERAL

Lest We Forget: Remember June 16

By Staff Reporter on 15th June 2016

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

June 16, 1976 was a turning point in the Freedom Struggle in South Africa, as developments that occurred since that fateful day confirm that much.

Clearly, South Africa was to change forever. The great struggle would now be in the hands of the ‘Mighty Youth’ of South Africa.

The 1980s were characterised by mass students and youth struggles. This was to become undoubtedly the most violent decade in the history of South Africa.

These struggles continued until the death of the apartheid regime in 1994 that paved the way for a democratically elected black government.

Of particular importance during the Freedom Struggle was the contribution made by young people at a time when liberation movements inside South Africa were banned and operated underground.

The students of 1976 decided that they could not participate and submit to destruction of their country and future.

Hence, they took a stand and decided to do something about the brutality of an illegitimate apartheid regime, which by the way had earlier been declared “a crime against humanity” by the United Nations.

Fast-forward to today, as the country celebrates Youth Month in June, it is important to reflect on the road travelled.

The uprising

The Soweto Uprising, also known as June 16, was a series of protests led by high school students in South Africa that began on the morning of June 16, 1976.

Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto in response to the introduction of Afrikaans, as the medium of instruction in local schools.

Fundamentally, the protest was headed by the National Students Representative Council (NSRC) with Tsietsi Mashinini leading the charge.

After going into exile, the group became known as the Soweto Students Representative Council (SSRC).

Although they are still different accounts as to what exactly happened prior, during and after June 16, 1976, the most common story is that an estimated 20 000 students took part in the protests.

The number of people who died is usually given as 176 on June 16, and later with estimates of up to 700 by the end of 1976.

The June 16, 1976, uprising which again, began in Soweto and spread countrywide, on a meaningful scale, changed the socio-political landscape in South Africa.

While the events that triggered the uprising can be traced to policies of the apartheid government that resulted in the introduction of the Bantu Education Act in 1953, it was when the Afrikaans language, alongside English, was made compulsory as a medium of instruction in schools in 1974 that black students began mobilising themselves.

The rise of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) and the formation of South African Students Organisation (SASO) raised the political consciousness of many students while others joined the wave of anti-apartheid sentiments within the student community.

On June 16, 1976, thousands of students mobilised by the SSRC, which had been collaborating with the structures like  the South African Students Movement’s Action Committee supported by the BCM, marched peacefully to demonstrate and protest against the government’s unjust directives.

The march was meant to culminate in a rally in Orlando Stadium. However, while the students were heading for their destination, they were met by heavily armed police, who fired teargas and later live ammunition on them.

This resulted in a widespread revolt that turned into an uprising against the government.

While the uprising began in Soweto, it soon spread across the country and carried on until the following year.

The aftermath of the events of June 16, 1976, had dire consequences for the apartheid government, as images of the police firing on peacefully demonstrating students led to international revulsion against South Africa with its evilness firmly exposed.

Meanwhile, the weakened and exiled liberation movements received new recruits fleeing political persecution at home. In the process, the struggle against apartheid was energised and revived.

A number of the police officeres, who carried out the shootings during the Soweto Uprisings, later committed suicide as a result of their acts.

Other accounts reveal that other liberations movements like the ANC and PAC also claim their involvement in the activities leading up to June 16.

For example, according to the PAC leadership, many of their activists were arrested for their involvement in June 16, and notably Zephania Mothopeng was incarcerated for his participation on June 16.

It would seem there were many competing forces that were seeking to own and direct June 16 and its legacy.

Youth empowerment

As part of empowering young people the South African government has established numerous programmes for the youth.

Although it can be argued that this falls far short of what is needed, as the millions of the country’s youth still find it hard to be part of the mainstream economy, nevertheless, the country can at least point at the strides made to remedy the situation.

But clearly a long road lies ahead, as many youths find themselves on the streets.

Furthermore, some serious questions need to be asked, like: Where are the activists of June 16, 1976, today?

Why are they so invisible in the every day life of South Africa? And if they are doing great work, what are they doing?

Why are they not seen in the forefront of telling the stories of their generation? Why do they say about the current state of education, youth and the country generally?

The June 16 Foundation, set up after the massacre, was tasked with the identification of the youth killed, the exact number of those killed and injured including those who disappeared.

Almost 40 years later, it seems there has been no clarity. Why?

These are some of the many unanswered questions on June 16, 1976, and beyond.

We must all contribute to getting to the truth. Otherwise, we risk losing more youths to crime and other societal ills.

And if we forget where we came from, we will lose our path to a prosperous future.

June 16, 2016 marks 40 years since the June 16, 1976, uprisings – 61 years since the adoption of the Freedom Charter and  22 years since South Africa attained freedom.

Are we still committed to the ideals of the students of 1976?

June 16, is now a public holiday, Youth Day, in South Africa, in remembrance of the events of 1976.

Are we doing the best we can not to forget the lessons of this great generation?

Lest we forget.

Overcoming Apartheid: Michigan State University

Bantu Education

"In 1953 the government passed the Bantu Education Act, which the people didn't want. We didn't want this bad education for our children. This Bantu Education Act was to make sure that our children only learnt things that would make them good for what the government wanted: to work in the factories and so on; they must not learn properly at school like the white children. Our children were to go to school only three hours a day, two shifts of children every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so that more children could get a little bit of learning without government having to spend more money. Hawu! It was a terrible thing that act." 

Baard and Schreiner, My Spirit is Not Banned 

The 1953 Bantu Education Act was one of apartheid's most offensively racist laws. It brought African education under control of the government and extended apartheid to black schools. Previously, most African schools were run by missionaries with some state aid. Nelson Mandela and many other political activists had attended mission schools. But Bantu education ended the relative autonomy these schools had enjoyed up to that point. Instead, government funding of black schools became conditional on acceptance of a racially discriminatory curriculum administered by a new Department of Bantu Education. Most mission schools for Africans chose to close rather than promote apartheid in education.

Centralization of schools under a new government department was not in and of itself opposed by school administrators, parents, and students. What the African community vehemently opposed was the creation of a separate and unequal system of black education rather than a single public schooling system for all South Africans. The white government made it clear that Bantu education was designed to teach African learners to be "hewers of wood and drawers of water" for a white-run economy and society, regardless of an individual's abilities and aspirations. In what are now infamous words, Minster of Native Affairs, Dr. Hendrik F. Verwoerd, explained the government's new education policy to the South African Parliament:  

There is no space for him [the "Native"] in the European Community above certain forms of labor. For this reason it is of no avail for him to receive training which has its aim in the absorption of the European Community, where he cannot be absorbed. Until now he has been subjected to a school system which drew him away from his community and misled him by showing him the greener pastures of European Society where he is not allowed to graze. (quoted in Kallaway, 92)  

The ideological framework for Bantu education had its origins in a manifesto crafted in 1939 by Afrikaner nationalists. Based on the racist and paternalistic view that the education of blacks was a special responsibility of a superior white race, this document called for "Christian National Education" and advocated separate schools for each of South Africa's "population groups"-whites, Africans, Indians, and Coloureds. Segregated education disadvantaged all black groups, but was particularly devastating for Africans. In a pamphlet released in 1948, the organization asserted: "... the task of white South Africa with regard to the native is to Christianize him and help him culturally... [N]ative education and teaching must lead to the development of an independent and self-supporting and self-maintaining native community on a Christian National basis" (quoted in Hlatshwayo, 64).

Bantu education served the interests of white supremacy. It denied black people access to the same educational opportunities and resources enjoyed by white South Africans. Bantu education denigrated black people's history, culture, and identity. It promoted myths and racial stereotypes in its curricula and textbooks. Some of these ideas found expression in the notion of the existence of a separate "Bantu society" and "Bantu economy" which were taught to African students in government-run schools. This so-called "Bantu culture" was presented in crude and essentialized fashion. African people and communities were portrayed as traditional, rural, and unchanging. Bantu education treated blacks as perpetual children in need of parental supervision by whites, which greatly limited the student's vision of "her place" in the broader South African society (Hartshorne, 41).


Bantu education schools suffered terribly from government's neglect. Enormous disparities in funding between white and black schools and student-teacher ratios adversely affected the quality of education for black students. The Bantu Education Account of 1955 made matters worse by mandating that African education be funded by the general poll tax collected from Africans rather than from the General Revenue Account used to fund white education. Even after the separate account was abolished in 1972, education of African children still remained grossly under-resourced, receiving one-tenth of the money afforded to whites and struggling with 56:1 student-teacher ratios (Hartshorne, 41). 

Dilapidated school buildings, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate instruction, poor teacher training, and a lack of textbooks plagued African education. Students struggled to learn under such conditions. As former teacher Eddie Daniels observed, even the sports fields at white schools were far superior to those at black schools: "the first thing that strikes me at both [white] schools was these huge stretches of green fields. Hell man! And in black schools you've got nothing, and I look at this it's just vast. You've got huge playing fields, tennis courts… It's painful, painful."

In an interview in 2006, Obed Bapela described his experience in overcrowded Bantu education schools in Alexandra township (in Johannesburg's northern suburbs):
… the school that I went to was an overcrowded school, there were quite many of them in Alexandra that were overcrowded, there were not enough schools to take care of all of us so we used to share classes. There would be a morning class that goes up to 11 o'clock and then we'll go home and then other kids of the same grade will come after 11 o'clock up to 2 o'clock and therefore the teachers will then run two sets of class … in some situations they will even use a tree in the schoolyard… We were around 70 to 80 [pupils in class] when I was in grade 1 and grade 2.  

A racist educational system perpetuated South Africa's social hierarchy in which skin color was very closely correlated to class. But Bantu education also brought a huge increase in the number of pupils attending primary (and later secondary) schools. Black students rose in protest in 1976 when the Department of Bantu Education mandated that higher primary and junior secondary students would have to learn some key subjects in Afrikaans – the language of the oppressor. This decision sparked a youth uprising in Soweto, which then spread nationwide and become a watershed event in the struggle against apartheid.

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It's time to stop the hype over maths in education

'The ability to factorise quadratic functions is not a prerequisite for an educated child'

14 DECEMBER 2016 - 11:28 AM SARA MULLER

Starting now, South Africa’s pupils will be able to obtain as little as 20% in mathematics in Grades 7, 8 and 9 and still progress to the next year of learning. This has been touted by many as evidence of an alleged inexorable decline in educational standards.

The country is already known for its poor performance in international standardised assessments in mathematics. This latest move may be misconstrued as condoning such poor achievement.

But the truth is a little more complex.

For Grades 7 and 8 – when pupils should be between 14 and 15 years of age – this strategy of “pushing through” to avoid repeated student retention is not new. It has been part of standard policy. This means that by the time pupils reach Grade 9, there’s a bottleneck in the system. It was inevitable that this pressure would need to be relieved.

To understand why, one must consider the confluence of a number of factors, including: the over-inflated importance of mathematics; a curriculum packed too full to allow for any slip-ups or slower learning rates, and the country’s struggling maths teachers. Maths performance correlates directly with poverty factors, meaning these challenges affect more than 75% of South Africa’s schools.

Inflated value of maths
In the past 20 years there’s been a major shift internationally towards thinking of education in purely economic terms (as opposed to critical citizenry, creativity or self-actualization). This reduction of education to purely economic ends, coupled with the conflation between mathematical prowess and problem-solving skills for the “knowledge economy”, has resulted in mathematics being isolated as “essential knowledge”. Its proponents insist that maths is required for an education of value.

To fully appreciate this shift in thinking, South Africans need to suspend their collective amnesia: passing mathematics was not a requirement to move into Grade 10 a generation ago. And yet adults from this era are often economically productive, creative and academically accomplished. Many would publicly acknowledge their own struggles with numbers.

The vast majority of jobs of many flavours and incomes do not require the type of maths taught even in Grade 9. This is forgotten when mathematics is positioned as supremely important for the job market, or for students’ personal development.

Moving targets
Against the backdrop of this increased emphasis on mathematics, it’s useful to consider key features of the National Policy Pertaining to the Promotion Requirements of the National Curriculum Statement.

An excessive emphasis on mathematics permeates this policy. Passing mathematics with “moderate” performance (that is, 40% or more) is now a criterion for passing in every grade. It’s a criterion many students do not meet.

The second issue is the “maximum four years in phase” policy. According to this, a pupil may not repeat more than one year in each three year phase of compulsory schooling. If a pupil has already repeated a year in a phase, they are “progressed” through into the next grade – whether they meet the promotion/pass criteria or not.

This “maximum four years in phase” policy bites at the end of Grade 9. Pushing pupils through without passing maths was a viable option in lower grades, as there was a “next grade” to progress to. But leaving Grade 9 without passing means leaving school without the General Education and Training certificate required for admission to a technical college.

In the past, officials and schools have often suspended the “max four years” criterion to give pupils another opportunity to try and attain a recognisable school leaving qualification, requiring a maths score of higher than 40%. For pupils who have been failing maths for years, this is almost impossible.

The pressure to move learners through the system is immense. Each year, principals and senior teachers suffer validation meetings, an event where schools justify their decisions to the provincial education department about whether students who failed should repeat or progress.

As a former mathematics Head of Department who has attended such meetings, I came to appreciate the lottery involved about who was “progressed” and who was not, as officials clandestinely tweak results until the number of students moved through was politically acceptable. Often those with 20% or more would have their marks “adjusted” to 30% for what is referred to as a “condoned pass”. As teachers, we are told to “find marks” in assessments to justify passing or condoning borderline students.

But sometimes there are just not enough marks to find.

Huge learning backlogs
The second policy that adds to the conundrum is the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). This demands strict adherence to pacing and content. Mathematics in CAPS moves at breakneck speed: ten jam-packed weeks of content per term, even though there are often only eight weeks of actual lessons.

Curriculum advisers regularly correct teachers who deviate from the stated content and pacing of curriculum documents. That means a teacher who has the confidence and ability to address learning backlogs by professionally interpreting the curriculum to meet a pupil’s needs is often criticised for doing so. Teachers without this confidence or skill will not even attempt the task.

Such rigidity is in stark contradiction to the National Policy Pertaining to the Promotion Requirements, which is peppered with phrases regarding tailoring learning to address backlogs and learning barriers.

Primary schools pragmatically push over-age (16 years old) Grade 7 pupils through to Grade 8 in senior schools. Senior schools then receive under-prepared pupils who are too old to refer to schools of skills or special needs schools – the maximum referral age is 14. There is nothing to be done but to try and teach struggling learners, knowing they will be pushed up into Grade 9 where they will get stuck or drop out. After Grade 9, the pupil enrolment dwindles rapidly as students lose the protection of being pushed through by the conveyor belt.

Together, these policies effectively put pupils on a one way track into Grade 9 irrespective of their performance in mathematics at lower grades. Then it has kept them in Grade 9 by insisting they meet the pass criteria… until now.

Struggling mathematics teachers
Two urgent issues, most concentrated in schools that serve the country’s poorest learners, further exacerbate what is already an obviously disastrous situation.

Firstly, the mathematics abilities of primary school teachers is a problem experienced in many countries, including the US and the UK, but particularly in South Africa. Mathematics specialists are appointed in high schools. Primary school teachers are trained as generalists. Yet it is in primary school where the learning backlog begins.

Secondly, teachers’ working conditions in poorer schools are abysmal. Those teachers who can leave often do, and mathematics teachers in particular often possess transferable skills. They relocate to other schools or other industries for better working conditions.

Primary schools thus struggle to provide the crucial foundations for maths, and secondary schools struggle to retain the specialists who might be able to address the problem later.

Relieving the self-applied pressure
It’s no wonder then that Grade 9 is the largest cohort in South Africa’s senior schools. Nor should it come as a surprise that large percentages of these classes are extremely weak at mathematics. Many pupils have barriers to learning that have been unaddressed for so long that there is little to be done at this late stage.

The Department of Basic Education has snookered itself by applying tight Grade 9 promotion criteria based on mathematics, without providing the means to meet them. This latest move is simply a welcome, realistic – and long overdue – acknowledgement that the ability to factorise quadratic functions is not a prerequisite for an educated child.

This article first appeared in The Conversation