Black education in South Africa: issues, problems and perspectives

In this article Professor Thembela, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, UPTTRAIL Trust*, sketches some of the issues which constitute major problems in the education of black South Africans. In the first place the discontinuity between the pupils' traditional home background and a Westernized system of education creates severe obstacles. They are aggravated by the fact that black culture is itself in transition. by the contempt with which black culture was regarded by the colonialists and by the discriminatory political practices which denied black education adequate provision. Other issues that further complicate black education are: * the second language medium of instruction which has been adopted for the purpose of securing international participation but which doubles the burden on the black learner and contributes to an appalling failure rate * the inadequate qualifications of black teachers * inadequate financing of black education * the impoverished communities from which black pupils and teachers come * the perception among many black pupils that their education is inferior * the situation of cultural, social and political conflict created by the development of black education. To remedy such a situation, intervention of an exceptional nature is needed. The UPTTRAIL project promises to provide such intervention. In hierdie artikel skets Professor Thembela, Vise-voorsitter van die Raad van Trustees, UPTTRAIL Trust, van die hoofprobleme in die swart onderwys in Suid-Afrika. In die eerste plek veroorsaak die gaping tussen die leerlinge se tradisionele huislike agtergrond en 'n verwesterse onderwysstelsel geweldige probleme. Dit word vererger deur die oorgangsfase waarin die swart kultuur homselfbevind, deur die minagting waarmee die swart kultuur deur die kolonialiste beskou is en deur die diskriminerende politieke wanpraktyke wat die swart onderwys baie ontse het. Ander sake wat swart onderwys verder kompliseer, is * die .gebruik van die tweede taal as onderrigmedium wat aanvaar is om internasionale deelname teverseker, maarwatdie lasopdie swart leer ling verdubbel het enbygedra het tot 'n geweldige druipsyfer * die onvoldoende kwalifikasies van swart onderwysers * onvoldoende fondse vir swart onderwys * die verarmde gemeenskappe waaruit swart leerlinge en onderwysers kom * die persepsie onder baie swart leerlinge dat hul onderwys minderwaardig is * die kulturele, sosiale en politieke konflik wat deur die ontwikkeling van swart onderwys geskep is. Om hierdie probleem op te Ios is ingryping van buitengewone aard nodi g. Die UPTJRAILprojek het die soort ingryping ten doel