By Tswelopele Makoe
JUNE is Youth Month, marked by the commemoration of the June 16th, 1976, Soweto students uprising and swift repression by the abhorrent apartheid police that left many youths killed.
This monumental event was triggered by the demands made by the students of the time to abolish the Bantu education system, in inferior educational system designated for black children, shaping them for unskilled and semi-skilled vocations.
The students of the 1976 generation foresaw the peril that was being systematically imposed on them by the Bantu education system. They fought ferociously against this, based on the human rights that entitle them to the right to proper education and, as such, a proper future for themselves and their families.
The Bantu education system was essentially a hindrance to the possibility of a successful future for black people. The courageousness and determination of the students of 1976 was significant in shaping the future of education and opportunities for all black people today.
And now, 47 years since the massacre of June 16, South Africans continue to fight the nuances that seek to repress them in the education system.
At the forefront of this is the question of access to education. Not only was the past apartheid system deeply racial and discriminatory, but was not properly addressed during the process of South Africa’s independence in 1994.
As such, South African citizens continue to face extremely deep and, at times, violent racial relations. Our systems are deeply capitalistic, emphasising economic power ahead of the pursuit of human rights such as education, housing, and healthcare.
Scores of citizens still struggle to access adequate education systems. Many schools operate consistently without proper infrastructure, sanitation, and valuable educational resources. Due to the inequalities of our nation, countless students cannot afford the materials needed to attend school, such as clothing, food, stationary and sanitary pads.
There is an alarming rate of students who are forced out of school in order to support their ailing families, and even more students who struggle to finish school. Across the nation, schools are struggling to address the striking rate of illiteracy, adequate funding, and overall communal support.
In universities, students have underscored the urgent need to address economic discrimination. This stems from the major issue of student funding across the nation. Tertiary education is often times avoided because of the economic demand that it requires from students on a persistent basis.
From registration fees to textbook costs to transportation and resources needed to successfully complete the school year, students struggle immensely with the various demands of education.
Another prevalent theme in the discontentment with tertiary institutions is the need to decompose educational institutions. Racist, classist and sexist sentiments are embedded into the South African curriculum across the board. This means that discrimination, injustice, and inequity are deeply prevalent in multitudinous ways across the education system.
The plight against institutional injustice seems like an annual occurrence in our nation, particularly at universities, which are often times riddled with protests and unrest, particularly at the onset of the New Year. It is rather alarming, however, that almost half a century later, students in South Africa are still fighting for justice and the “progressively available and accessible” right to education.
What is evident here is that not much has changed since 1976. Yes, black people are awarded freedoms and opportunities that were previously strictly reserved for white people, but they are still contending with a ferociously white system that prioritises and protects the privileged and the rich.
The poor continue to get poorer, the prices of goods continue to sky-rocket, our systems and infrastructures continue to worsen, whilst our government does little to address these challenges. The rapport and morale of the nation is abysmal. The prospects for the future are bleak, and the nation is struggling to survive. Unfortunately, our present post-apartheid, contemporary South Africa does not leave much to brag about.
We are living in dangerous times, where masses of citizens are living in survival mode. Economic opportunities are far and few in-between, especially for those who were not born with a stepping stool to success. The economic disparities of the modern South African context are absolutely shocking; the lines between rich and poor are stark.
Although we trust in our systems and leaders to redress this startling situation, we are definitely met with more challenges than solutions. What is concerning about this is that the state of our nation today is discouraging, particularly for the youth, who will be left with the shambles of the nation when our current leadership has long gone.
It is disheartening to continue to contend with a system that does not seek to alleviate the obstacles of the nation and the vexation that comes with it. It is demoralising to repeatedly address the same issues, year in and year out. It is disappointing to see the lack of change and the dismissal failure with which these challenges have been met.
Corruption, crime, political instability, unemployment, poverty, inequality, and racial tensions and systematic discrimination are issues that can be very intentionally addressed, but they have not. The challenges of South Africans continue to be undermined and overlooked, especially when compared to issues of capitalism and international relations.
South Africa is the most developed and industrialised nation on the African continent but remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. The previous colonial and apartheid system denied black people equal opportunities and resources. Evidently, however, post-apartheid South Africa has not done much to reinstall adequate resources and opportunities to the black citizens of this nation.
We have a plethora of socio-economic, political, and institutional issues, but they are all intersectional, meaning that they are all interrelated. Our high levels of crime are directly linked to the high rates of poverty and inequality, and that is directly linked to our history of apartheid. If we do not empower our own citizens, we cannot expect to alleviate the pressures that are faced by households, particularly economically and educationally.
In turn, we will not be able to overturn the high unemployment rate, and we will not be able to actualise a system in which people can generate an adequate income, can pursue their own businesses, and as such, can create employment. We are not facilitating diverse and creative innovations and systems that are unique to the South African context, and we are not shaping and preserving our knowledge, cultures, and curriculum adequately.
On this year’s Youth Day, we need to re-think about the future that the youth of 1976 were fighting for and be steadfast in our promotion and bettering of our own future. The challenge faced in this nation cannot be faced in isolation.
We need to work cooperatively with our institutions, our organisations, and our national leadership in order to overturn the challenges that currently fester on the nation and actualise a promising future for ourselves and those to come. In that way, the martyrs who perished in 1976 will hopefully rest in peace, knowing that their deaths were not in vain.
- Tswelopele Makoe is a Gender Activist and an MA Ethics student at UWC, affiliated with the Desmon Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice. The views expressed are her own.