South Africa Schools. The ANC Once Wanted A Better Education For All Of S.A.'s Children. So What's Changed?

A country or society is deemed civilised by the way it treats it less fortunate members. After almost 18 years of being in unchallenged power in South Africa the African Nation Congress (ANC) has failed in this basic test.

South Africa has a massive problem with educational achievement in schools. This is a fact that has been known for some considerable time. The question has to be asked.

'Are the ANC following a hidden policy of under funding and educating the people for their own nefarious ends?'

The ANC is trying to push through legislation that will allow them to gag press freedom. Is this the action of a free and democratic country.

Black empowerment, as a policy is in place in many countries around the world and quite rightly so; in countries where black people are in the minority. Why is there a black empower policy in South Africa where the majority is 95% black?

Shouldn't they rather try to use the best people for the job regardless of colour. Racism is racism and discrimination is never acceptable by any majority. Smacks of payback!

The Schooling System

Many researchers have investigated, to try to find where the problem lies. Whether it be the levels of poverty or poor teacher moral or the fact that over 400,000 (estimated) school age pupils do not attend school at all. This alone would skew the figures significantly.

But in many cases there are no schools for them to attend. Those pupils that do attend have such low pass rates (just 20% pass at very poor levels, in the UK or US they would be failed)

It has been 18 years now of ANC rule in which time they have purchased a new Naval fleet of warships and submarines and held the FIFA Football World Cup at a huge cost.

Couldn't they have built some schools?

Publicly the ANC tell us :-

"South African law states that every child of this nation is entitled to education"

What they don't tell the world is that there is a clause in the Act that includes the line:- "assuming funding is available"

In other words they have a get out clause built into the law so that they don't actually have to provide education for all, at all?

What effect has the new prosperity had on the rising Black middle class and what does it mean for these failing schools.

Still today 4 out of 5 children leave school unable to read, write or do basic mathematics.

This is a left over effect from the apartheid era when the ANC told children not to attend school as they felt that they were being brainwashed by the state.

Like many other bad things of that era they are behind us now; but South Africa is left with the legacy of those times. Adult illiteracy & innumeracy is also endemic in South Africa

Parents are very supportive of schools and know that their children must do well at school to have any hope of getting out of the poverty trap.

The welcome rise of an affluent Black middle class in South Africa has meant a bonanza for the privately owned schools where educational standards are on a par with anything the west has to offer.

N.B. Apartheid for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term means "separate development" The original idea was in fact quite enlightened. The early Dutch settlers did not want to impose their European values on the local populations. However It very quickly developed into a viscous way to suppress the locals in their own lands.

The new apartheid is between the haves and the have nots. People can live where they like (if they can afford it) and they do.

Curiously though; now that these various groups Black, Whites & Coloureds can live where they want they still tend to congregate within their own ethnic groups.

In social science terms they self-segregate and this has nothing to do with racism.

Birds of a feather flock together. There is plenty of evidence that this is the case. You may find the odd white man living in a predominantly black or coloured area or vis a versa.

But generally individual members of racial groups tend to gravitate to each other.

The Schelling segregation game demonstrates this self organising principle. Click here for more info.

A quick note on Cape Coloureds. In the UK USA and just about everywhere else on the planet the term coloured is deemed derogatory.

Not in South Africa where this population group is very proud of it's mixed race heritage which may include Malay, Dutch, Koi Koi, Chinese, African...too mention just several of the combinations.

The Koi Koi or Koi San people are the original indigenous people of the Western Cape and they are treated with utter contempt by every other race group. A similar fate to what happened to the Indian tribes in the USA.

The new affluent black middle class is often accused of looking after themselves. That has not been my experience. Many people from all financial and racial backgrounds have been very giving of their time, money and talents.

There are still racists in South Africa from all race groups but they are greatly outnumbered by some of the most humane people I have ever met.

Blacks and Coloureds can now join their White counterparts and have the opportunity to put their children into better schools and they do. Why wouldn't they? They want to give their children better life chances.

There is a widely held belief that the ANC have failed it's less well off constituents and their children.

The ANC found the money to spend on the World Cup why can't they find the money to help these children and their families.

The gloves are off, and the people are online.

With the rapid spread of information that the internet offers, real change is possible. It will begin in the schools of South Africa.

The days of the one party state are numbered. Consider what has happened in the Arab spring?