Segregation of education Notes

Segregation of Education

1. Before the implementation of apartheid, most African children received their education in schools managed by Christian missions, which operated thousands of facilities across South Africa.
2. These institutions focused on Western academic subjects like mathematics and English and were instrumental in shaping many future African professionals and political figures, including leaders in the ANC like Mandela.
3. Despite receiving some government support, mission schools suffered from severe underfunding, especially compared to white schools.
4. Financial shortages, aging infrastructure, and overcrowding—exacerbated by rising urban populations—meant many African students were turned away, and educational quality was declining rapidly.
5. By 1948, fewer than one in three African children were enrolled in any form of schooling, and only a small percentage progressed to intermediate levels.
6. These problems prompted the government to launch a formal review of African education to recommend a more centralized approach.
7. Education laws enforced school attendance for white children but not for Africans.
8. As a result, many African youths roamed urban streets unsupervised during the day, leading to public anxiety about juvenile delinquency.
9. These idle youths were often labeled "tsotsis", a slang term that came to represent young gang members associated with rising crime in urban townships.

The Bantu Education Act (1953)

1. In 1953, a crucial apartheid law called the Bantu Education Act was introduced to take full control of Black education away from the existing national education system.
2. From this point forward, schools would be segregated by race, with Black learners placed under the direct oversight of the Department of Native Affairs, headed by apartheid ideologue Hendrik Verwoerd.
3. This move excluded Black South Africans from the general Ministry of Education and institutionalized racially customized curricula via separate school boards.

Education for Black Children

1. The education provided to Black children was deliberately substandard, focused only on functional literacy and manual skills deemed necessary for labor or domestic service.
2. Academic content was nearly absent, and the aim was clear: to prepare Black youth for a life of subordination and economic servitude.
3. Black students were often subjected to part-time schooling in short shifts, with little to no access to textbooks or basic classroom materials.