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<h1 class="gmail-bold">Away with Afrikaans</h1>
<span id="gmail-spnDate" class="gmail-block gmail-datestamp">2018-01-28 06:01</span>
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<p class="gmail-left">Castro Ngobese And Sibani Mngadi</p>
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<img id="gmail-image" title="Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse a crowd of people who were protesting outside Hoërskool Overvaal last week. Picture: Felix Dlangamandla." src="https://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/6985/dc01861e6e334d38a92454b8ef9bb97d.jpg" alt="Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse a crowd of people who were protesting outside Hoërskool Overvaal last week. Picture: Felix Dlangamandla.">
<p class="gmail-text">Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to
disperse a crowd of people who were protesting outside Hoërskool
Overvaal last week. Picture: Felix Dlangamandla.</p>
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<article id="gmail-article-body" class="gmail-clr_left"><p><strong>Popular
participation is needed to defeat reactionary and undemocratic decisions
by school governing bodies that yearn for apartheid , write Castro
Ngobese and Sibane Mngadi.</strong></p><p>One of the most iconic images
taken by photojournalist Sam Nzima during the 1976 student uprisings in
Soweto captured one of the protesting students carrying a placard with a
bold message: “Away with Afrikaans.” </p><p>This was a reaction to the
imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in black township
schools. The image was printed in various local newspapers and gained a
global audience as it accentuated the essence of the students’ demands.</p><p>The
repressive organs of the state, particularly the police, were unleashed
to quell the dissent, and this was accompanied by ugly scenes of
violence and the mass arrests of student leaders. The repression
intensified the unity <span>of the student-worker axis that provided a
platform upon which a popular front was built in the 1980s, spearheading
the final offensive against the apartheid regime. The ultimate outcome
was the democratic breakthrough in 1994 and a Constitution that
guarantees each child the right to quality education.</span></p><div style="text-align:center" class="gmail-ad_container_24"><div id="gmail-ad-600x50-1" class="gmail-24ad600x50"><div class="gmail-noad"></div></div></div><p>We
were reminded of those scenes in Soweto in 1976 after the Pretoria High
Court decided to deny a request by 55 pupils to be enrolled and taught
in English at the Afrikaans medium Hoërskool Overvaal. The judgment was
received with mixed emotions, and some have rightly argued that the
ruling was an attack on our democratic gains in building a single,
nonracial, nonsexist, democratic public education system that is
accessible to all, irrespective of colour, language or creed.</p><p>The
judgment, which the Gauteng department of education is appealing, has
led to negative consequences for the school and for the community of
Vereeniging. </p><p>Last week, on the first school day of the year,
parents staged a protest to demand that the 55 pupils be admitted to the
school. The protests led to violent scenes playing out around the
school and have worsened racial tension in the area.</p><p>Many others
have interpreted the judgment as a political tool that is being used by
the school’s governing body to exclude black pupils, which leads to
continued segregation.</p><p>The SA Schools Act is not always enforced. </p><p>A
case in point: Two boys from the same household who live about 500m
from Rondebosch Boys’ High School, a public school in Cape Town, apply
for admission to Grade 8. One doesn’t receive a response at all; the
other is called in for an interview.</p><p>After being thoroughly
coached by his parents, he seems to handle all the questions from the
teacher well – he explains his good marks in maths and engages in all
other academic subjects. Everything seems to be going well.</p><p>The
problem begins during a discussion about extra-mural activities. His
parents had prepared him for the questions about academics, but they
hadn’t anticipated queries about what sports the child was interested
in.</p><p>“What sport do you play?” asks the teacher. “I play soccer. I
am in the Under 15 team for Santos,” the boy responds with pride,
volunteering information about how well his team is doing.</p><p>The teacher explains that, according to the school’s rules, all boys are required to play rugby for the school. </p><p>“Will you be willing to play rugby?” the teacher asks. </p><p>“No, I do not like rugby,” the boy replies.</p><p>And
the interview is over. The boy’s application is declined. Despite
enquiries, the school does not explain its decision. An appeal to the
school’s governing body elicits this response: “Proximity to the school
is not the only consideration and we do not have enough space.” </p><p>Several
letters, emails and phone calls to Western Cape Education MEC Debbie
Schafer do not bring about a resolution. Schafer’s spokesperson, Jessica
Shelver, states that the school’s governing body has the right to grant
or decline admission to the facility.</p><p>The boys end up being
admitted to Grade 8 in a private school, which costs significantly more
than Rondebosch Boys’ High School would have.</p><p>Last year, the
department of education published draft amendments to the SA Schools
Act, which seek to curtail the power that governing bodies wield at
former Model C schools – schools that were built with and continue to be
funded by taxpayers’ money. </p><p>Yes, parents pay extra fees to cover
the costs of running these schools, but does that give their governing
bodies the right to exclude new pupils?</p><p>Governing bodies
unilaterally formulate the requirements for admission and decide whether
a new pupil meets these requirements. They are under no obligation to
explain why admission is refused and there is no appeal process against
this decision – unless the case is taken to court. </p><p>Such absolute
power in the running of public institutions is unacceptable, especially
if there is evidence of systematic exclusion.</p><p>The proposed amendments to the act upgrade the final authority to admit pupils to the head of department (HOD).</p><ul><li>The
changes will require school governing bodies to submit admission
policies to the HOD for approval. “In the event that the HOD does not
approve the policy, or any amendment thereof, he or she must return it
to the governing body with such recommendations as may be deemed
necessary. The policy needs to be reviewed every three years or whenever
the prescribed factors have changed, when circumstances so require, or
at the request of the HOD,” the bill proposes.</li></ul><ul><li>The bill
further makes provisions for a pupil who has been refused admission to
appeal to the MEC for education in their province.</li></ul><ul><li>The
bill will require the governing body to submit the language policy of a
public school, and any amendment thereof, to the HOD for approval, and
it empowers the HOD to direct the school to adopt more than one language
where necessary.</li></ul><ul><li>The bill will require that the code
of conduct of a public school must take into account the diverse
cultural beliefs and religious observances of the pupils at the school,
and it makes provision for an exemption clause that will make it
possible for pupils to decline to comply with certain sections of the
code for religious or cultural reasons.</li></ul><p>These proposals have
been met with strong opposition from school governing bodies, AfriForum
and other entities that would like to retain their current powers. </p><p>It
is within this context that calls for the amendment of the SA Schools
Act should be supported by all progressive parents and leading voices in
society. This will require popular participation on the ground so that
reactionary and undemocratic decisions by school governing bodies that
are still envious of the apartheid schooling system are defeated.</p><p>For
the purposes of reconciliation and nation-building, we are not opposed
to Afrikaans as a language, but we are opposed to the systematic use of a
“semi-imperial” language as an instrument of exclusion, especially when
used against those who are historically disadvantaged and who happen to
be the black majority. </p><p>It is necessary to form a group similar
to the National Education Crisis Committee of the 1980s to engage with
all stakeholders and find solutions to the continuing challenge of
attaining transformation in our education system. It should seek to
create equality so that all of South Africa’s children have the
opportunity to access quality education.</p><p><span><em>Ngobese works as a public servant in Gauteng; Mngadi is a corporate affairs professional in the private sector</em></span></p><p><strong>TALK TO US</strong></p><p>What does government need to do to ensure schools no longer reject a child based on race, culture or language?</p></article>
<br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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