/THE AFRICAN EDUCATION MOVEMENT.

The scene is a South African Courtroom, There are pieces of chalk;, exercise books and slates lying about - exhibits in a criminal case. Witnesses are testifying . ''I saw the accused point to a blackboard. " "Isaw the children reading books. "

The accused are charged with teaching children. Let this be quite clear. They are not charged with teaching subversive or immoral doctrines; with teaching by harsh or undesirable methods; with teaching under insanitary or overcrowded conditions; with teaching subjects which they are not competent to teach. Their quality as teachers, the nature of the instruction they give, are not under investigation. They are simply charged with teaching black children , for unless you are part of the Government’ s Bantu Education Department you commit a crime by teaching black children - by teaching them anything, anyhow,- I f you are convicted you may be fined , imprisoned, even banished-from your home town for l i f e , like 23 year old Miss Francis Khulani, who was caught teaching children to sing.

It is not easy for ordinary people in South Africa , or outside it , to believe that such things really happen in the year 1956. But they do. The Bantu Education Act makes it an offence to conduct a school for African children unless it is .registered with the Government, The Minister for Native A ffairs has an absolute discretion to refuse regis­tration, and he can and does refuse it on grounds other than the quality of the school as an educational institution.

Before the Bantu Education Act of 1954, African children were educated either in Mission schools or in Government schools. The Government- schools were run and the Mission schools supervised and sub­sidised by the Education Departments of the four Provinces of the Union of South Sfrica. There were many faults in the system, In particular there were too few schools and most of them were overcrowded and poorly equipped; teachers were inadequately qualified , all resulting in an inferior education. Nevertheless many of the schools endeavoured, however inadequately, to give children the same kind of education that children receive in any enlightened society. And there was freedom to

choose between the different types of schools.

The Bantu Education Act brought all schools for Africans under the direct control of the central Government - not under the Education Department of the central Government but under i t ’ s Native A ffairs Dep­artment. A number of reasons connected with administration and fin ­ance were given in support of the change, but one reason overshadowed all these minor considerations. Because it is determined to keep the African people in a position of permanent in fer iority , the South African Government is determined to give African children A DIFFERENT KIND OF EDUCATION from that which children normally receive throughout the c iv ilised world. In the words of Dr. H. F. Verwoerd, M inister for Native A ffaits , the Act intends "transforming education FOR Natives into BANTU education. " The Minister went on to explain more fully . Referring to the old system he said *"By blindly producing pupils trained on a European model, the vain hope was created among Natives that they could occupy posts within the European community despite the Country's policy of 'Apartheid*. This is what is meant by the creation of linhealthy white collar id e a ls ’ and the causation of widespread frustation among the so-called educated Natives. "" . . . .e d u c a t i o n has served to create a class of educated and semi-educ­ated persons. . . . which has learnt to believe that it is above its own people and feels that its sp iritual , economic and p o lit ical home is among the c iv ilised community of South Africa. "Referring to the new system, he said "The school must equip him to meet the demands which the economic l i f e of South Africa w ill impose upon

him. ""There is no place for him in the European community above the level of certain forms of labour. "

* All quotations are from the speech delivered by Dr. Verwoerd in the Senate on 7th July , 1954.

In other words, a race of helots must have a special education for helotry. No child of the subject race is to be allowed an educ­ation which w ill make him regard himself as a free, c iv il is e d man.

The African people, together with people of other races who do not support the Herrenvolk ideology, have naturally re-acted strongly against Bantu Education. The new policy has faced African parents with an agonising decision. Are they to allow their children to attend schools where they w ill be taught to be ashamed of their own

nation, indoctrinated with ideas of in feriority , their minds poisoned by racialist myths? The only alternative which the Government would allow them is to leave their children without any education at a ll ,In this terrible dilemma, thousands of African parents have decided that no matter what the cost they cannot allow their children to attend the new schools. Others, with heavy hearts, have sent their children to school because they cannot hring themselves to accept the haz?sh

alternative.

The African Education Movement aims to provide, as far as possible, a third alternative. It assists the African National Con­gress and other bodies which are running ’’Cultural Clubs” for African children. These clubs aim to provide organised, healthy activities for children who either cannot obtain admission to Government Schools or do not choose to attent the Bantu Education schools, and who would otherwise be left to roam the streets. A high percentage of club membership is accounted for by the 7 ,0 0 0 children who participated in a protest boycott of Bantu Education Schools and who were then refused re-admission to Government schools for periods of one to two years as a punishment. ”7hilst most of these children have no intention of reti m in g to Bantu Education Schools, this form of punishment must

surely be unique.

The Bantu Education Act is , of course, only one item in a mass­ively built structure of oppressive legislation . Those who thoughtat the time that Dr. Verwoerd's speech in the Senate was not to be taken too seriously - was mere vote-catching - can now see that it was indeed the very precise expression of his mind on the future of the Bantu. The Act is to be followed up by the application of apart lie id to the only two remaining Universities that cater for Non-Europeans; and it seems likely that one of the few recommendations of the "Tom­linson Commission Report" which the Government is likely to implement is the segregation of Non-^/hite University students into three ethnically-grouped ’ Bantu U n iv e r s it ie s ' , which w ill of course - as the earlier "Holloway Commission", appointed b£ the Government to study ways and means to University segregation pointed out - be of lower status: not Universities , in fact, but g lo r ifie d Technical Colleges i f that. The increased powers the M inister now has of sentencing and removing without t r i a l , coupled with his action in dismissing a number of teachers (26 "to date) who exhibit some signs of resistance to his Plans shew clearly that the whole trend, of which the Bantu Education Act and its implementing are but a part, towards complete domination not only over the A fr ic a n ’ s work and movements but even over his

thought and aspirations.

The African Education Movement is therefore pursuing only one of the many ways which w ill be necessary if freedom-loving people are to put up any resistance to the growing totalitarianism that weighs upon

this Country.

SPECIFIC AIMS AND NEEDS OF THE AFRICA! EDUCATION M OVCIOT ;

The African Education Movement was formed to co-ordinate the work of those organisations and individuals who were opposed to the Bantu Education Act. As a result the African Education Movement represents a wide range of p o lit ical and religious beliefs . Our first Chairman was Father Trevor Huddleston C. r . , and on his recall to

England Father Martin Jarret-Kerr C .R . succeeded him.

The following is an outline of the major activities of the

African Education Movement.

A full-time African organiser has been appointed whose job it is to assist the various Club Leaders with the organisation and running of the Clubs, The A. E.M. also prepares regular programme notes consisting of graded h isto rical , sc ien tific , geographical and literary stories; notes and suggestions for handcrafts; general knowledge games and physical games. Regular training courses are held at which these notes are studied and all problems raised by the Club Leaders are discussed. The A .E .M . has several local branches in the European suburbs of Johannesburg and the Eastern Province. These local branches raise money and collect a ll materials suitable for handcrafts - scraps of material, wool, paper, wood, discarded toys etc. Unfortunately the work of these local committees is restricted by the small numbers of sympathetic Europeans. Most of the white people in this country are either apathetic or they agree in principle with the Government’ s apartheid measures. The African people, who are the most economically depressed section of our population, can i l l afford to finance such a service. In fact we do ask families to pay a sum of 2/- to 2 /6 a month for Club membership. However, we s t il l have to rely heavily on contributions from sympathetic people overseas in order to remain solvent.

At the moment there are eight Cultural Clubs in operation on the ’Vitwatersrand and eleven Clubs in the Eastern Cape.. The total number of children in all the Clubs is about 10 ,00 0 . Some of these Clubs have as many as 900 children who attend regularly. In some cases Club Leaders have over 100 children to cope with. Considering the inferior educat-ion in it ia l ly received by most Club Leaders, coupled with the fact that informal educational techniques are harder to apply than the formal techniques, the d iff ic u lt ie s under which the Club Leaders work w il l be appreciated#

Cultural Clubs are scarcely a substitute for schooling, but they do offer a way out of the grim choice between slave education and idle vagrancy.

A further function of the A .E .M . is to help maintain any private school that is completely independent of Government financial support and which does not follow the Bantu Education syllabus. Unfortunately the Minister has expressed his strong disfavour of private schools, especially i f they are run by the churches. He has said that the registration (without which they cannot function legally) nf such schools w ill slowly be withdrawn. At the moment however there are several such schools that have asked for our assistance. As can be imagined, these schools are a heavy drain on our slender resources.

A third aspect of the work of the A .E .M . is the provision of Self-Education material. These are formal lessons in the 3 Rs to ennable those children who are out of school to teach themselves to read and to write. Any outsider who teaches such a child is guilty of infringing the Bantu Education Act.

’Ve are desperately in need of funds to carry out the work out­lined above. We are always in need of funds with which to fight the incessant prosecutions of our Club Leaders for running "il leg a l schools1', and for pass and permit offences. The Clubs, private schools, and training conferences are constantly raided by the police. In some cases there are arrests on small charges that are later withdrawn; in most cases one can only assume the aim to be intimidation.

In spite of all this provocation, the spirit of the Club Leaders, parents, and children is excellent. The African people are determined to fight apartheid,and the Bantu Education Act is one of the most vicious of the Government's apartheid measures,

Collection Number: AD1137

FEDERATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN 1954-1963

PUBLISHER: Publisher:- Historical Papers Research Archive

Location:- Johannesburg

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