Dialogue on Bantu education

An open panel discussion was held to talk about the impact of the Bantu Education Act on the current education system.

The discussion was held on Sunday at the opening of the Monty Naicker Commemoration Committee exhibition titled South Africa in the Making.

Retired Constitutional Court Justice Zak Yacoob reflected on the act, which was passed 60 years ago.

He said it was important for people to remember the work Naicker had done by encouraging relevant action and dialogue to make society a better place.

He said Naicker was passionate about the act, which had sought to enslave black people.

“African education had to be administered and controlled so there was no deviation from the master plan (apartheid), said Judge Yacoob.

“We should try and work out what we can do now that these problems are rooted in our society. What is the use of teaching a Bantu child mathematics when he could not practise it?”

The retired judge linked the textbook delivery saga to the act.

“We should conduct our own research on the issue of education and the way it can be improved,” he said.

Paulus Zulu, director of the Maurice Webb Race Relations Unit and School of Social Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, spoke about the language barrier and how it affected pupils at home and at school.

He said children became strangers at home and at school when they are taught in English. “They speak a language that they are not accustomed to at home and at school.”

Selvan Chetty, a member of the public, said he often noticed children as young as five boarding trains in the morning for schools 30km away. Chetty said a study should be conducted to find out why children migrate from their areas to schools outside their districts.

Zulu replied:

“Children migrate because they learn in English, which is the language of the world.” - Daily News Reporter