Apartheid In Education (South Africa)
During the apartheid era, the government was in control of the nature of education and from 1948, the nature of control was continually extended by successive Nationalist Government to the extent that all that was taught was virtually dictated by the education ministry.
The Bantu Education Act and the establishment of the Bantu Education Department in 1953 and 1958 respectively gave the government almost complete control over Bantu education. The fundamental purpose was to adapt Bantu education in the role which the Bantu (Africans) were expected to play in a white community.
The Bantu (Africans) were not to be govern the false notions of their positions in that community nor to have access to dangerous ideas of any kind. The Bantu (Africa) teachers were under effective discipline and were forbidden to comment adversely on government policy, and if found culpable would be dismissed and would find no other employment in their profession.
Having thus established control over the minds of young Africa, the government later extended their control to the minds of young whites. The National Education Policy Act Of 1967 gave the minister of education power to decide on the curriculum to be followed by white children as a result of this act the education given in the white schools throughout the union was based on the policy of developing Christian and National Character.
Therefore, there were separate schools for white and Africans within the union with separate curriculum to be followed. Even the books used in both schools were carefully selected from a special list that excludes alternative points of view. By this measures the government hopes to perpetuate the superiority and training the non white to accept their position as that of servitude in the community.
It should be noted that with the earlier passed Group Urban Area Act Of 1950 coupled with the Bantu Education Act, the schools for Africans were to be held in African location outside the white community.
The apartheid policy of segregation of children schools was also extended to the union’s university when the government passed the Extension Of University Education Act which prohibited integrated higher education and provided for four ethnic university colleges at Bellvile, Ngoye, Durban, and Turfloop for colored, Zulu, Indian and Sotho-Iswana students respectively. This is in line with the Prohibition Act which divided South African population into four groups – white, colored, Asian and Bantu and prohibited multiracial political parties.
In addition segregation was enforced in libraries and places of entertainment if they were controlled by public authority whether the audience gathered to read or to watch boxing context.
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