SOUTH AFRICA

  nicholas banks

South Africa: Education

            South Africa’s education has come a long way. It has been changed many times, due to the colonization and the apartheid of Africa. Before the apartheid of South Africa, education was a privilege, teachers were scarce and attendance was low. The Africans did not like the curriculum because it didn’t have to do with their culture because the English language was involved CITATION Edu09 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa). Once the apartheid took part in their education, religion and ethnicity started to mix into the style of education. The Apartheid was a big factor towards the education of South Africa. 

Education before apartheid was not exactly how the South African’s liked it. They liked their education before colonization which was before apartheid. The South African’s education was adopted from the English people who colonized in that part of Africa CITATION Edu091 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa - SACMEQ). The Afrikaners didn’t like their style of education because they liked their own style. The British brought their English language over; the South Africans didn’t like this because they didn’t like how it didn’t have to do with their culture African values CITATION Edu09 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa). During this time of education, 1800s, Colonial Office would screen background information on the applicants that registered for school CITATION Edu091 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa - SACMEQ). They would only choose the families that had a background of education, or wealth CITATION Edu09 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa). Higher education was reserved for people wealthy enough to travel to Europe, where the best schools were held CITATION Edu09 \l 1033 (Education in South Africa). Schools in these times were rough and most people who could go to school were the Europeans that colonized Africa.

Education after the apartheid got even worse, after the South African’s lost the South African War for independence, thousands of European, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand teachers came to South Africa with more English culture CITATION Edu09 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa). The Bantu Act had a lot of effect on the social problem towards educational discrimination CITATION Edu091 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa - SACMEQ). Two people that were a part of the Bantu act had been studying in Germany; the Germans gave the two philosophers the ideas of the Nazi’s CITATION Edu091 \l 1033 (Education in South Africa - SACMEQ). This meant that blacks were inferior. One of the men said that blacks should be educated for what they are used for, which is near nothing CITATION Edu091 \l 1033 (Education in South Africa - SACMEQ). African education was based on segregation of the blacks and whites CITATION Edu09 \l 1033 (Education in South Africa). And making the whites receive all of the educational resources while the black people of South Africa got uneducated teachers, and inferior textbooks CITATION Edu09 \l 1033  (Education in South Africa).

South African education has been changed a lot in the past. It started with self education, before colonization, where the Africans would teach themselves the education they needed to survive, or to become religious or political leaders. The education headed downhill once it hit the colonization period. The Europeans took over their style of learning. Slowly the Africans learned the European style of education, and were forced to learn English against their will. This concept of South African education is important towards South Africa’s history because it is difficult to change education styles and languages so quickly. Once they got used to the education after the colonization they had to switch to the education of the apartheid. They had no choice but to switch educational styles. The British came in during colonization and changed the education. Once the apartheid came into the picture the Europeans enforced their education and made it difficult for the black African’s to learn, by segregating and discriminating against them.



Bibliography

Education in South Africa. 13 May 2009    <http://southafrica.info/about/education/education.htm>.
This source was vital for my information on how the african's felt about education.

Education in South Africa - SACMEQ. 13 May 2009 <http://sacmeq.org/education.southafrica.htm>.
This source helped me with the different time frames of education.


Last Updated May 2009 by Nicholas Banks