Bantu Education Act, 1953

Bantu Education Act of 1953 (No. 47) was a South African law which codified several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision was enforced separation of races in all educational institutions. Even universities were made 'tribal', and all but three Missionary schools chose to close down when the government no longer would subsidize their schools. Only Roman Catholics, the Seventh-day Adventists, the Congregationalists (The American Board) & the United Jewish Reform Congregation continued using their own finances to support education for native Africans.^[1] In 1959 this type of education was extended to "non white" Universities and Colleges with the Extension of University Education Act, and the internationally prestigious University College of Fort Hare was taken over by the government and degraded to being part of the Bantu education system.^[2] It is often argued that the policy of Bantu (African) education was aimed to direct black or non-white youth to the unskilled labor market,^[3] although Hendrik Verwoed, at the time Minister of Native Affairs, claimed that the aim was to solve South Africa's "ethnic problems" by creating complementary economic and political units for different ethnic groups.

It has been claimed that the system of mission schools was close to collapse in 1950.^[4]

The South Africa's National Party viewed education to be a key element in their plan to create a completely segregated society. The Minister of Native Affairs at the time, Hendrik Verwoerd, stated that:

There is no place for [the Bantu] in the European community above the level of certain forms of labour ... What is the use of teaching the Bantu child mathematics when it cannot use it in practice? That is quite absurd. Education must train people in accordance with their opportunities in life, according to the sphere in which they live^[1]

In 1954 Verwoerd stated: "The general aims of the Bantu Education Act are to remove the above mentioned defects by transforming a service which only benefits a section of the Bantu population and consequently results in alienation and division in the community, into a general service which will help in the building up of the Bantu community." ^[5]

Nevertheless, the curriculum was much more equal with that of White schools, than was feared.^[6] Mathematics was indeed taught in African schools.^[4]

The introduction of Bantu Education led to a substantial increase of government funding to the learning institutions of black Africans, but it did not keep up with population increase.^[4] The law forced institutions under the direct control of the state. The National Party now had the power to employ and train teachers as they saw fit. Black teachers' salaries in 1953 were extremely low and resulted in a dramatic drop of trainee teachers. Only one third of the black teachers were qualified.^[1]

A fact not often appreciated, is that Bantu Education and separate development opened up many jobs for professional and skilled Blacks, which had not been available to them under the previous "more liberal" government. Jobs in the civil service, police and SA Railways were created for this purpose.^[7]

The schools reserved for the country's white children were of Western standards and the education was both mandatory and free. 30 % of the black schools did not have electricity, 25 % running water and less than half had plumbing. The education for Blacks, Indians and Coloured was not free.^[1] In the 70's the per capita governmental spending on black education was one-tenth of the spending on white.^[3]

In 1976 student protests against the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974, which forced all black schools to use both Afrikaans and English as languages of instruction beginning with the last year of primary school, led to the Soweto uprising in which more than 575 people died, at least 134 of them under the age of eighteen.^[3][8]

It was repealed in 1979.

References

External links

• Article on apartheid and education that mentions the Bantu Act (in Dutch)