Bantu Education In The Apartheid

In 1953 the National Party (NP) government had brought out many new laws for Apartheid. These laws had separated all the different races from each other. This was called the Apartheid. Bantu education was one of the laws that played an important role in children’s lives and in their future during Apartheid in South Africa.

Bantu Education was when the government took control of the education of the black children. Black children were taught how to be obedient and not to think critically. Less and less money was spent on Bantu schools than schools for other races. Bantu Education was to make children learn things for what the government wanted them to work for e.g. working in the factories. Children went to school every day for three hours.

Before the act was going to be implemented in an uneven manner, the purpose was to consolidate Bantu education. Black people’s education was supported by the government until the act came out and was not supported anymore. The law gave the government power to have the schools like they wanted it. This made the government power to separate Native South African children from the white South African children. This law was implemented to make sure that children got an education.

During Bantu education there was no qualified teachers that could teach the children and get a good salary. The National Party took power to employ people that they saw could teach. The government also trained the teachers how to teach. Black teachers would get a salary that was very low. All the white schools had electricity and running water while the black schools had 30% no electricity, 25% no running water and no plumbing. Children in black schools had no tables and chairs to work on during school hours. Children were forced to learn Afrikaans during the last

This made it difficult to work because of very little resources that they need. This also made it hard to work and concentrate because of the environment around them.

On June 16 1976 the Soweto Uprising had begun because of the Bantu Education Act. The Soweto Uprising was on June 16 when the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), South African Student Organisation (SASO) and the students of the black schools came together to have a peaceful march to government building to end the law of Afrikaans and English languages becoming compulsory in school. Between 3000 and 10 000 students had joined the march.

This was some of the children that had joined the march on 16 June 1976 to the government building with their signs saying that they do not want Afrikaans and “To hell with Afrikaans”.

The main reason that started the protest was because children had to have Afrikaans with the Bantu education they had. The reason for the Soweto Uprising was traced back to the Bantu Education Act. Many schools had joined in with the protest to protest against Afrikaans and Bantu Education.

Attitudes people had towards Bantu