The Major Educational Events in South Africa During The Period 1900-1994

1900-1910

Christian National Education

In 1901, a group called the Vriendekring was formed and established a group of private schools. Its main mission was to ensure that Dutch traditions, language, religion and history were taught in schools. It was a fairly advanced group that had its own board and examiners. In 1907, when General Smuts becomes the minister of education, the CNE schools really received its boost. The standard of education was high and could be seen to be very close to the standards of the government schools

It was established to formulate a detailed education policy for South Africa. In the CNE committee sat men representing the Dutch churches, the teaching profession, Afrikaner University and Afrikaans Cultural leaders. Education policies and laws in South Africa were influenced by CNE policies. After years of preparation, a pamphlet with the distillation of CNE principles was published in February 1948. Before the end of that year the National Party were in power and in position to start implementing their education policy. Policies were authorised to burn farms, they called it scorched earth.

1920-1930

In 1922, New laws were passed which fixes the funding of African education at all levels, with additional funding to come from the Africans themselves. The result is continual under funding

Missionaries

The council of education was abolished and a sub-department of Native Education was established under the superintendent of Education. Two hundred missionaries were brought from England to teach British concentration camps, followed by hundred from Canada, New Zealand and Australia. This was when Soweto was established as a separate African only district. The missionaries in the former Transvaal administered, controlled and financed their schools. As long as these missionaries financed their schools in Black Education, the state did not interfere in the policies of curricula and administration of the schools. It was the policy of the former Transvaal Government to allow missionary societies to continue with their endeavours, as long as they did not interfere with the education of the White Colonists. This clearly indicates that the former government used many methods to ensure that their policies and acts become a success. The missionaries taught in their European-style and they also taught their learners the manual and labour work, which one would believe that it was a challenge for learners to adapt to new teachers, new language and style usage and dealing with labour work.

1950-1960

Mission Schools

The church has always been a prominent in education in South Africa and especially in black education. Before 1953 mission schools provided almost all of the education which was available for blacks. Missionaries were the main teachers of blacks in South Africa before Bantu Education forced them to close the schools. However, without the mission schools, blacks would have received no education. The mission schools educated many people. The missionaries also came from Europe, with their own purpose in mind. Mostly the missionaries taught basic reading and writing along with Christian doctrines. It was easier for literate people to absorb religious ideas by reading the Bible and taking part in hymn-singing. Basic education became an important means for conversion .At the same time, in addition, manual work and practical training were also an important part of the mission education. Usually prominent mission schools taught a European-style curriculum but also included industrial training and manual work in the curriculum. Mission education played its part creating new social groups, workers and elite. This policy focuses on issues of Christianity, Religion and education. Not everyone is a Christian so this was unfair to many learners who were not Christians because they will only be treated as minority and inferior.

Bantu Education Act 1953

It is said that ‘Bantu Education’ should be brought under the control of government and should be used to rebuild and extend ‘Bantu Culture’. On the basis of cultural differences, people should be separated in education and in other spheres of life. Bantu Education also helped to build reserves, so as to facilitate and encourage the evolution of a progressive modern and self-respecting Bantu order of life. As the commission Eiselen put it “the schools must give due regard to the fact that out of school hours, the young Bantu child develops and lives in a Bantu Community.” Many mission schools were closed after Bantu Education. Bantu Education act stipulated that African education should be under government under government control.

1968-1978

Steve Biko and Black Consciousness

After leaving school, Steve Biko went on to study at Natal Medical School in 1966. Whilst there, he helped establish the South African Student Organization (SASO) in 1968. His political activities led to expulsion from the university, but he continued campaigning against apartheid. Biko was a good speaker and wrote well. His organization became more popular and led to several arrests by the police, from 1973 he was prohibited from doing number of things, for example, travelling without the police’s consent and publishing his work. During these arrests the police never charged him. In 1977, Biko died. Biko wanted black people to trust themselves again, to give themselves’ the benefit of the doubt, because there was absolutely nothing wrong with them. He wanted his brothers and sisters to love themselves as people.

Soweto Uprisings

Young black people in general had more extremist views against apartheid, and were more willing to protest than their parents were. These were the people especially influenced by Steve Biko’s ideas on black consciousness. They were ready to face the government and stand up for their rights. In 1976, the government decided that black people would receive half their education through the medium of Afrikaans. Children at black schools were not happy to be taught through the medium of a language they considered as the ‘language of the oppressor’. They saw this as another way of trying to control them. They had been influenced by people like Biko, who told them they should love themselves as black people, and love their own language and culture.

Schoolchildren started refusing to sit their exams. On 16 June, 20,000 schoolchildren and students went on a march, and when they came face to face with the police, the police fired guns at them. Two were killed and many more were injured. Soweto and other areas erupted after this, and violence, riots and protests soon followed. Government buildings were burnt down, cars were attacked, and many black policemen were killed, along with other black people working for the government.

1970-1980

Opened schools as Reform Movement

This was a time when apartheid was undergoing significant changes. In the face of an ‘organic crisis’, the dominant group in the ruling National Party, in association with the capital and the military, attempt to introduce a number of reforms to restructure apartheid away from some of its overtly racial forms towards limited desegregation. The open school movement can be distinguished from state reforms in significant respects and this distinction is important in analysing both the open schools and reform in general. First, state reform in education did not in effect extend to desegregation. Second, the church initiated in opening schools needs to be acknowledged as part of its broader opposition to apartheid. Lastly, the history of church-state conflict over the open schools shows themselves in winning recognition. These reforms aroused the 1976 Soweto Uprisings which led in 1980s.

Conclusion

What stood out was the Soweto Uprising and the Bantu Education Act, because firstly, regarding the Soweto Uprising, the bravery of those leaners amaze me. They stood up for what they believed and desired. Their protest might have killed few learners but it impacted so many educational levels, new laws and policies were implemented. It is now a celebrated day for youth because indeed they played a significant and major role in fighting the apartheid system. Steve Biko encouraged them to take a stand hence one would say they have avenged his death, him and other young people who lost their lives that day. Secondly, the Bantu Education Act stood out because this act was created to protect the future of many black learners. In this case, black people were taught in their own language, not in English or Afrikaans. They were also taught about their position in their society. Nowadays, our learners struggle to communicate and learn in second language because home language is the first language acquisition they use at home and when they get at school we change the language which makes the transition difficult, so by this it is clear that being taught in your language is quite simple and fun to learn, but that does not mean they shouldn’t be taught English.

References

1. Blumfield, B. (2008) A timeline of South African events in Education in the Twentieth Century. http://sahistoryofeducation.webs.com/SA%20timeline.pdf(1990-1999).
2. Boddy-Evans, A. (2001) Student organize a Protest: 16 June 1976 Student Uprising in Soweto Part 2.http://africanhistory.about.com/od/apartheid/a/Soweto-Uprising-pt2.htm
3. Christie, P. (1991) The Right to learn: Second. Cape Town: Ravan Press Ltd (Chapter 2,3,9)
4. http://www.sahistory.org.za