Answer to Question #217601 in English for Zamapho Ndimande

Question

State education policy of 1955 to 1962 was forged under the pressure of urban crisis.
Briefly discuss the four ways through which the state dealt with this crisis.

Answer 1

Fir t, the state created a much la

rg

er

education system th an had ever

e

xi

ted before. This a

ll

owed it to draw the bulk

of

urban working-class

youth into the

sc

hools. Education was set on a firmer footing than

before, as

an

agency

of

soc

ia

li

sation.

Second, the state developed

fi

nancial m

ec

ha

ni

sms. These allowed it

to

base its new ed ucation system on exceptionally low levels

of

expenditure.

Thus

, it overcame the economic obstacles to e

duc

ational

expan ion.

Third, the re-organisation

of

education provided a new articulation

between the labour n

ee

ds

of

industry and the school.

In

this, th e

requirements

of

industry

fo

r semi-sk

ill

ed labour were far more ad-

equately met

th

an had previously been the case.

Fourth, the

NP

government u

se

d education in its attempts to create a

new hegemonic social orde

r.

It

tried

to

lure black pare

nt

s into th e

school system through the estab

li

shment

of

school boards and commit-

tees.

It

tried to generate divisive ethnic identification with African

cultural a

nd

ling

ui

s

ti

c groups, by emphasising the use

of

African

languages

in

the

sc

h

oo

ls. The aim

of

such practices was to create a

political con ciousness that would accord with th e ethnically divided

bantustan ystem.