Africa's Heath and Education | Page 40

The PANAFRICAN Review
a well-calculated ruse to limit the influence of the church on black education . Moreover , language has always been a vexed issue in South Africa ’ s education as it was used to cement the settlers ’ cultural domination of the country . Unsurprisingly , the imposition of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction sparked the famed student-led Soweto protests of 1976 .
What is more sinister about Bantu Education was the racially essentialist undertones that formed its basis . This brand of education was aimed at preparing black people for employment opportunities that were more suited to menial exertion , as drawers of water and hewers of wood , as is popularly described . In other words , their skills had to reflect the lowly esteem in which state laws held them . Hendrik Verwoerd , the brain behind Bantu Education , justified a separate education for black people , arguing that there is no place for a black African “ in the European community above the level of certain forms of labour . Within his own community , however , all doors are open [ emphasis added ].” An evil justification for Bantu Education was the impression that an adulterated version of education was more suited to the intellectual limitations that were thought to be intrinsic to black minds . The fact that apartheid came only three years after the collapse of the Nazi regime demonstrated the resilience and , yes , the allure of racial chauvinism . Against this unfortunate backdrop , it was expected that the post-apartheid order would seek to redress past injustices as a substantial way of ending time-honoured inequalities .
One of post-apartheid South Africa ’ s success stories is the level of enrolment for basic education . According to the Department of Basic Education ’ s Action Plan 2024 , “ in recent years 99 % of children of compulsory school-going age – ages 7 to 15 – were enrolled at school .” Effectively , this means that South Africa has reached the United Nations ’ Millennium Development Goal number two in terms of universal enrolment in primary education . However , this impressive enrolment belies a troubling reality , which is that despite the increased uptake of ( young ) learners , clear-cut differences between haves and have-nots in the educational system persist . For instance , while the literacy rate stands at 87 %, school-going statistics paint a bleak picture . Still , less than 40 % of learners who enrol for primary education go on to pass their matriculation examinations , while less than that number go on to earn a degree in record time . In terms of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study ( TIMSS ), South Africa usually ranks at the bottom of the various rankings , vastly behind some of its African counterparts , such as Tanzania and Zimbabwe . Sadly , it is learners from disadvantaged backgrounds ( predominantly black communities ) who bear the brunt of the country ’ s persistently unequal education system .
Several factors are responsible for the educational inequalities that continue to bedevil South Africa . First , an inadequate and total lack of transport continue to haunt low-income learners in South Africa . An education advocacy group called Equal Education supported a case instituted by 12 schools in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial High Court , challenging the lack of transport for learners / schools in poor communities . The High Court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs and enjoined the provincial departments of education and transport to start providing safe and reliable transport by 1 April 2018 . Even though this was only a single case , it represents a general lack of reliable transport for learners from poor and rural backgrounds , thereby typifying the long-standing inequalities between urban / affluent schools and their rural / impoverished counterparts . For rural learners , especially those in primary school , the provision of reliable transport would not only improve class attendance but protect them from hazards such as perilous rivers , wild animals , and human ambushes .
Secondly , the current teacher-training system in South Africa is not fit for purpose . For one thing , the current training does not take into cognizance the educational background of learners and , thus , does not address the inequities that pervade the education system . Since teachers are typically moved from one placement to another , this reality calls for adaptable skills ( taking into account the background of learners ), which could be garnered with the help of lifelong learning in line with the Sustainable Development Goal number four ( SDG4 ) that calls for inclusive and equitable education accompanied by lifelong learning .
Thirdly , in South Africa ’ s rural and low-income areas , the dearth

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