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Bantu Education Act

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• South African History Online - Bantu education and the racist compartmentalizing of education
• South Africa - Overcoming Apartheid Building Democracy - Bantu Education
• Academia - To What extent did the Bantu Education Act change the system of Black Education in South Africa?
• Swarthmore College - Global Nonviolent Action Database - Black South Africans boycott Bantu education system, 1954-1955
• St. John Fisher University - Fisher Digital Publications - Bantu Education

Bantu Education Act , South African law , enacted in 1953 and in effect from January 1, 1954, that governed the education of Black South African (called Bantu by the country’s government) children. It was part of the government’s system of apartheid , which sanctioned racial segregation and discrimination against nonwhites in the country.

From about the 1930s the vast majority of schools serving Black students in South Africa were run by missions and often operated with state aid. Most children, however, did not attend these schools. In 1949 the government appointed a commission, headed by anthropologist W.W.M. Eiselen, to study and make recommendations for the education of native South Africans. The Eiselen Commission Report (1951) urged the government to take charge of education for Black South Africans in order to make it part of a general socioeconomic plan for the country. In addition, the report stated that the schooling should be tailored toward the needs and values of the cultures of the communities in which the schools were located. The prescriptions of the commission were generally followed by the Bantu Education Act.

Under the act, the Department of Native Affairs, headed by Hendrik Verwoerd , was made responsible for the education of Black South Africans; in 1958 the Department of Bantu Education was established. The act required Black children to attend the government schools. Teaching was to take place in the students’ native tongue, though the syllabus included classes in English and Afrikaans . Instruction was mandated in needlework (for girls), handcraft, planting, and soil conservation as well as in arithmetic , social studies, and Christian religion. The education was aimed at training the children for the manual labour and menial jobs that the government deemed suitable for those of their race, and it was explicitly intended to inculcate the idea that Black people were to accept being subservient to white South Africans. Funding for the schools was to come from taxes paid by the communities that they served, so Black schools received only a small fraction of the amount of money that was available to their white counterparts. As a result, there was a profound shortage of qualified teachers, and teacher-student ratios ranged from 40–1 to 60–1. An attempt by activists to establish alternative schools (called cultural clubs because such schools were illegal under the education act) that would give children a better education had collapsed by the end of the 1950s.

High schools were initially concentrated in the Bantustans , reserves that the government intended as homelands for Black South Africans. However, during the 1970s the need for better-trained Black workers resulted in the opening of high schools in Soweto , outside Johannesburg . Nonwhite students were barred from attending open universities by the Extension of University Education Act (1959). The Bantu Education Act was replaced by the Education and Training Act of 1979. Mandatory segregation in education ended with the passage of the South African Schools Act in 1996, but decades of substandard education and barriers to entrance to historically white schools had left the majority of Black South Africans far behind in educational achievement by the beginning of the 21st century.

• DOI: 10.4102/nc.v79i0.90
• Corpus ID: 158372771

Segregated schools of thought: The Bantu Education Act (1953) revisited

• Published in New Contree 30 December 2017
• Education, History, Political Science
• New Contree

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The history of Bantu education: 1948-1994

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When the Law Was Passed and Implemented and Why of Bantu Education Act?

When the Bantu Education Act was passed in 1953, it signaled the beginning of the end of state-funded education for black South Africans. The act was one of the key pieces of legislation of the apartheid era, and its effects are still felt today. The act was designed to bring about "separate development" of the races, and it did so by starving black schools of resources and forcing them to teach a curriculum that emphasized manual labor and discouraged critical thinking . The results were disastrous: black children were ill-prepared for the workforce, and black universities were unable to compete with their white counterparts. The Bantu Education Act was finally repealed in 1977, but its legacy continues to shape education in South Africa.

When was the Bantu Education Act passed?

The Bantu Education Act was passed in 1953 in South Africa. Prior to this, education for black South Africans was severely underfunded and inadequate. The Bantu Education Acteled to the establishment of black-only schools that were substandard in comparison to white schools. This act was a major factor in creating the educational inequality that still exists in South Africa today.

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13 Bibliography of Bantu Education Act 1953

Over the years, several books and journals have been written to help us see the Bantu Education Act and it’s effects in different perspectives.

Many of these books are not published online because of the inaccessibility of internet facilities as at then. However, a search through University libraries and historic archives will help you get one of these publications.

Here is a bibliography of sources related to the Bantu Education Act of 1953:

1. Bantu Education: A Discussion of the Separate Educational Facilities for Non-White South Africans 

Bibliography.

Department of Bantu Education. Bantu Education: A Discussion of the Separate Educational Facilities for Non-White South Africans. Pretoria: Government Printer, 1954.

This government publication provides an overview of the Bantu Education system, including its objectives, curriculum, and funding.

2. The Political Economy of Race and Class in South Africa

Magubane, Bernard M. The Political Economy of Race and Class in South Africa. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979.

This book examines the ways in which race and class intersect in the context of South African society, including the impact of apartheid policies like Bantu Education on economic inequality and social mobility. Available on Google Books  

3. The Bantu Education Act and Its Consequences 

Motala, Shirin. “The Bantu Education Act and Its Consequences.” South African Journal of Education 23, no. 3 (2003): 206-210.

This journal article examines the impact of the Bantu Education Act on educational opportunities and outcomes for non-white South Africans, including the ways in which it perpetuated systemic inequality.

4. Separate and Unequal: The Bantu Education Act and South African Apartheid 

Spiegel, A. D. “Separate and Unequal: The Bantu Education Act and South African Apartheid.” The Journal of Negro Education 69, no. 3 (2000): 192-202.

This journal article explores the connection between the Bantu Education Act and the broader system of racial discrimination and oppression known as apartheid, including the ways in which it reinforced social and economic inequality.

Related: 47 Questions and Answers Based on Bantu Education Act

5. The Bantu Education Act and African Resistance in South Africa 

Walker, Cherryl. “The Bantu Education Act and African Resistance in South Africa.” Journal of Southern African Studies 4, no. 2 (1978): 157-177.

This journal article examines the ways in which black South Africans resisted the Bantu Education system through various forms of protest and activism, including boycotts, demonstrations, and civil disobedience.

6. The Bantu Education Act and South African Education, 1953-1968

Webster, Eddie. “The Bantu Education Act and South African Education, 1953-1968.” Journal of African History 13, no. 4 (1972): 637-654.

This journal article provides a historical overview of the Bantu Education system, including its origins, implementation, and evolution over time, as well as the ways in which it shaped the educational landscape of South Africa more broadly.

7. The Bantu Education Act: A Failure of Democracy 

Wilson, Francis. “The Bantu Education Act: A Failure of Democracy.” South African Journal of Education 31, no. 4 (2011): 440-452.

This journal article argues that the Bantu Education Act was a failure of democracy, as it denied non-white South Africans the right to a quality education and perpetuated systemic inequality, thereby undermining the principles of democratic governance.

8. The Making of Bantu Education: A Historical Overview 

Bundy, Colin. “The Making of Bantu Education: A Historical Overview.” Journal of Curriculum Studies 18, no. 5 (1986): 423-431.

This article provides a historical analysis of the development of Bantu Education in South Africa and how it served the interests of the apartheid government. It also explores the resistance to Bantu Education and the role of education in the struggle against apartheid. It remains an important resource on the topic.

Related: 10 Effects & Impact of Bantu Education Act in South Africa 

9. A History of African Higher Education from Antiquity to the Present 

Lulat, Y. G.-M. A History of African Higher Education from Antiquity to the Present: A Critical Synthesis. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005.

This book provides a comprehensive history of higher education in Africa, including a discussion of the impact of apartheid-era policies like Bantu Education on access to higher education and academic freedom. Available on Google Books

10. Bantu Education, Colonialism and Christian National Education 

Saleh, Fatima. “Bantu Education, Colonialism and Christian National Education: The Origins of Apartheid Education in South Africa.” Journal of Pan African Studies 3, no. 7 (2010): 146-159.

This journal article examines the historical roots of the Bantu Education system, including its connections to colonialism and Christian National Education, as well as the ways in which it was used to promote white supremacy.

11. Inscribing Race on the Body: The Logic of Apartheid Education 

Soudien, Crain. “Inscribing Race on the Body: The Logic of Apartheid Education.” Comparative Education Review 38, no. 2 (1994): 168-185.

This journal article analyzes the ways in which the Bantu Education system was designed to reinforce and perpetuate racial inequality in South Africa, including the ways in which it inscribed race onto the bodies and minds of black South Africans.

12. From Christian National Education to Bantu Education 

Van der Walt, Johannes L. “From Christian National Education to Bantu Education: The Evolution of Apartheid Education, 1924-1954.” Journal of Educational Studies 11, no. 1 (2012): 77-99.

This book explores the complex relationships between education, equality, and human rights, including a discussion of the impact of apartheid-era policies like Bantu Education on the educational opportunities and outcomes of marginalized groups in South Africa.

13. Apartheid and Education: The Education of Black South Africans 

Horrell, Muriel. Apartheid and Education: The Education of Black South Africans. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978. 

This book examines the impact of apartheid policies on the education of black South Africans and how education was used as a tool for resistance and liberation. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the effects of apartheid on South African society and remains an important resource on the topic.

Related: Bantu Education Act Essay (300 Words) + PDF

These books and articles provide a range of perspectives on the Bantu Education Act of 1953 and its impact on South African society. 

They explore the political, social, economic, and historical factors that led to the creation of this system, as well as its consequences for education, equality, and human rights in South Africa. 

By examining the complex relationships between race, class, gender, and other forms of social difference, they offer insights into the ongoing struggles for justice and equality in the post-apartheid era.

Olusegun Iyejare is a career coach and certified counselor. He helps individuals discover and maximize their potential to live satisfying lives regardless of obvious limitations holding them back.

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Fisher Digital Publications

Home > The Review > Vol. 2 (1999)

Article Title

Bantu Education

Andrew Phillips , St. John Fisher University Follow

Disciplines

African History | Education | Race and Ethnicity

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph. South Africa has had to deal with issues of racial differences since colonial times. British settlers came into this foreign country and claimed it as their own. Until recently, these settlers were able to treat the black people of South Africa as a subservient and inferior race as a result of the system of apartheid. Many different strategies were needed to keep this imbalanced system in place. One such strategy was employed through education, or a lack thereof. As long as blacks received a lower quality education than whites, they could not hope to become the political or social equals of whites.

Recommended Citation

Phillips, Andrew. "Bantu Education." The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research 2 (1999): 22-27. Web. [date of access]. <https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/ur/vol2/iss1/6>.

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Academic literature on the topic 'Bantu Education Act (1953)'

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Consult the lists of relevant articles, books, theses, conference reports, and other scholarly sources on the topic 'Bantu Education Act (1953).'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

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Journal articles on the topic "Bantu Education Act (1953)"

Hunter, Mark. "THE BOND OF EDUCATION: GENDER, THE VALUE OF CHILDREN, AND THE MAKING OF UMLAZI TOWNSHIP IN 1960s SOUTH AFRICA." Journal of African History 55, no. 3 (September 22, 2014): 467–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021853714000383.

Ball, Tyler Scott. "Sof’town Sleuths: The Hard-Boiled Genre Goes to Jo’Burg." Cambridge Journal of Postcolonial Literary Inquiry 5, no. 1 (November 27, 2017): 20–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/pli.2017.38.

Verhoef, M. "Funksionele meertaligheid in Suid-Afrika: 'n onbereikbare ideaal?" Literator 19, no. 1 (April 26, 1998): 35–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/lit.v19i1.511.

Campbell, Kurt. "Philological Reversion in Post-Apartheid South Africa: The Sand Writing and Alternate Alphabets of Willem Boshoff." Philological Encounters 3, no. 4 (November 27, 2018): 524–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/24519197-12340053.

giliomee, hermann. "A NOTE ON BANTU EDUCATION, 1953 TO 1970." South African Journal of Economics 77, no. 1 (March 2009): 190–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.2009.01193.x.

Klein, Melanie. "Creating the Authentic? Art Teaching in South Africa as Transcultural Phenomenon." Culture Unbound 6, no. 7 (December 15, 2014): 1347–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.1461347.

Bologna, Matthew Joseph. "The United States and Sputnik: A Reassessment of Dwight D. Eisenhower's Presidential Legacy." General: Brock University Undergraduate Journal of History 3 (December 18, 2018): 29–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.26522/gbuujh.v3i0.1722.

Mária, Péter H. "Commemoration of Kárpáti Gizella, the first woman who took her degree in medical science in Kolozsvár at Ferenc József University." Bulletin of Medical Sciences 91, no. 1 (July 1, 2018): 67–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/orvtudert-2018-0001.

Kolbiarz Chmelinová, Katarina. "University Art History in Slovakia after WWII and its Sovietization in 1950s." Artium Quaestiones , no. 30 (December 20, 2019): 161–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.14746/aq.2019.30.8.

Anderson, R. Bentley. "‘To Save a Soul’: Catholic Mission Schools, Apartheid, and the 1953 Bantu Education Act." Journal of Religious History , May 21, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.12664.

Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Bantu Education Act (1953)"

Moore, Nadine Lauren. "In a class of their own : the Bantu Education Act (1953) revisited." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/53445.

Leleki, Msokoli William. "A Critical Response of the English Speaking Churches to the Introduction and Implementation of Bantu Education Act in South Africa." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/46253.

Rundle, Margaret. "Accommodation or confrontation? Some responses to the Eiselen commission report and the Bantu education act with special reference to the Methodist church of South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19520.

Legodi, Mapula Rosina. "Issues and trends in shaping black perspectives on education in South Africa : a historical-educational survey and appraisal." Diss., 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17195.

Legodi, Mapula Rosina. "The transformation of education in South Africa since 1994 : a historical-educational survey and evaluation." Thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17196.

Reason 1: Legal Background

Knowing the legal background of the Bantu Education Act is important because it illustrates how systemic racism was entrenched in South African law. This knowledge helps us understand the deliberate and institutionalized efforts to maintain racial segregation and inequality . By learning about the legal framework of apartheid, we can appreciate the extent of the struggle required to dismantle these oppressive systems.

Reason 2: Implementation and Content

Understanding the implementation and content of the Bantu Education Act is crucial because it highlights the deliberate efforts to provide substandard education to black South Africans. This knowledge explains the roots of educational disparities that persist today . For example, recognizing how the curriculum was designed to limit opportunities for black students can help current educators and policymakers develop strategies to address these historical inequities.

Reason 3: Impact on Black South Africans

It’s important to know the impact of the Bantu Education Act on black South Africans to understand the long-term effects of educational deprivation. This awareness underscores the generational consequences of apartheid policies . For instance, knowing that black South Africans were systematically denied quality education helps explain current socio-economic challenges and highlights the need for continued efforts toward educational equity and reparative measures.

Reason 4: Resistance and Protests

Learning about the resistance and protests against the Bantu Education Act is essential for appreciating the resilience and courage of those who fought against apartheid. This historical context shows the power of collective action and the importance of standing up against injustice . The Soweto Uprising , for example, is a powerful reminder of how young people can lead movements for change, inspiring current and future generations to advocate for their rights.

Reason 5: Long-Term Consequences

Understanding the long-term consequences of the Bantu Education Act is important because it provides insight into the persistent educational and socio-economic disparities in South Africa. This knowledge is vital for developing effective policies and interventions to address these issues . Recognizing the historical roots of current challenges helps policymakers create more targeted and impactful solutions to improve the education system and promote equality.

Reason 6: Relevance to Contemporary Issues

The Bantu Education Act is relevant to contemporary issues as it helps us understand the foundations of present-day inequalities. By studying this act, we can better comprehend the historical context of current educational and social challenges . This understanding is crucial for fostering a more inclusive and equitable society, ensuring that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

Knowing about the Bantu Education Act is important for understanding the legal, social, and educational landscape of apartheid-era South Africa. This knowledge helps us appreciate the struggles faced by black South Africans , recognize the lasting impact of these policies, and work towards a more equitable future. By learning from history, we can develop better strategies to overcome current challenges and build a just society for all.

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Biden administration asks Supreme Court to allow partial Title IX rule enforcement where blocked

The Education Department is appealing lower court decisions temporarily halting the rule over its LGBTQI+ protections, but wants to enforce other parts.

First published on

Dive Brief:

The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to allow the U.S. Department of Education to enforce parts of its controversial new Title IX rule in locales where court orders have temporarily blocked the entire regulation. 

In a pair of filings , U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asked the court to review the preliminary injunctions arising from cases in Louisiana and Tennessee after both the 5th and 6th Circuit denied the Biden administration's request to allow portions of the rule to take effect. The preliminary injunctions impact 10 conservative states that sued the department over its rule protecting LGBTQI+ students. 

The district courts' orders blocking the entire rule rather than just the parts under litigation are too broad and would "block the [Education] Department from implementing dozens of provisions of an important Rule effectuating Title IX, a vital civil rights law protecting millions of students against sex discrimination," the solicitor general's application said.

Dive Insight:

In the past few weeks, the department's three-month-old rule has been dealt multiple blows in federal district courts just prior to its Aug. 1 implementation date . So far, the entire rule has been temporarily blocked in 15 states after they challenged the rule's LGTBQI+ protections.

And when the department attempted to move the remaining parts of the rule forward in those states, federal judges have repeatedly denied its requests.

Last week, Kansas District Court Judge John Broomes suggested in his decision rejecting the department's stay request that the challenges to enforcement were of the department's own making. Broomes said the Education Department "maybe" should delay its Aug. 1 enforcement date on its own to avoid a patchwork of Title IX policies nationwide. 

However, Prelogar told the Supreme Court on Monday that the lower courts' decisions were "a blunderbuss approach to preliminary relief" that is "both wrong and consequential." 

Prelogar said she foresees the provisions protecting LGBTQ+ students being litigated on appeal and that the issue "may well require" the Supreme Court's input in the end. 

She said the Education Department, however, is not asking the federal court system to urgently address those controversial parts of the rule.  Rather, it seeks to implement other parts of the rule at this time.

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Bantu language shows that processing of focused information may be universal

by Max Planck Society

Languages have different ways of highlighting relevant information. Recent research shows that despite these differences, the consequences are the same: to trigger a brain response to process information more deeply. In an EEG study published in PNAS , led by the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics (MPI) in Nijmegen, researchers investigated Makhuwa, a Bantu language that highlights relevant information in a different way than many Indo-European languages. Results reveal a universal pattern of processing relevant information.

In many languages across the world, speakers use intonation to focus on relevant information: " Father cooked the sauce." Speakers may also use a specific sentence structure to mark focus: "It was father who cooked the sauce." Listeners and readers process focused information in a deeper way than non-focused information.

For instance, EEG studies show an increased N400 response when words are focused. The N400 is a negative brain response that typically occurs 400 ms after encountering an unexpected word, in sentences such as "I eat bottles ."

Makhuwa-Enahara, a Bantu language spoken in northern Mozambique, uniquely marks focus by changing the form of the verb. For instance, by changing the form of the verb "ate" (o-c-aalé vs. o-hoó-cá), speakers can put focus on the noun that follows, as in "the woman ate rice ." If focused information is processed in the same way as in other languages, speakers of Makhuwa should show a more pronounced N400 effect when encountering focused words.

To test this hypothesis, the team recorded electrical brain activity in speakers of Makhuwa. To elicit brain responses to unexpected words, participants heard sentences such as "I eat bottles " vs. "I eat rice ," with the crucial words in focus or non-focus position, depending on the verb form.

Results show that focused information generated a more negative N400 response than the same information in non-focus position. According to the authors, this demonstrates that regardless of how relevant information is marked, the consequences for processing of relevant information are the same.

According to senior researcher Peter Hagoort, director of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, "Our findings point towards a universal pattern where focus marking results in an upregulation of focused information, irrespective of how it is linguistically marked. The universality of focus marking is hence not in its linguistic form, but in the processing consequences it has. This finding is significant for both linguistic theories and cognitive models of language processing, and contributes to the diversification of cognitive neuroscience research on language by including a non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) language."

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Provided by Max Planck Society

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Who is the director of the Secret Service? Kimberly Cheatle has led agency since 2022

A House Republican leader is planning for an oversight hearing with the U.S. Secret Service after President Donald Trump was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday evening.

Sunday morning the FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks as the gunman who opened fire at Trump's rally . The Secret Service reported that the shooter and one rally attendee are dead. Two spectators are critically injured following the shooting.

House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, made the request for a briefing with the Secret Service and said he would call Kimberly Cheatle, the agency's director, to testify at a hearing.

"My prayers are with President Trump and the victims of the assassination attempt at today’s rally in Pennsylvania. I thank the brave Secret Service members who put their lives at risk to protect President Trump and for the American patriots in the audience who helped innocent victims," Comer said in a news release Saturday. "Political violence in all forms is unamerican and unacceptable. There are many questions and Americans demand answers. I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon.”

So who is Kimberly Cheatle?

Who is in charge of the Secret Service?

Kimberly Cheatle was sworn in as the 27th director of the U.S. Secret Service in September 2022. She was selected by President Joe Biden in August 2022.

Cheatle has served more than 25 years with distinction for the United States Secret Service across a number of leadership roles. She worked on the Vice Presidential Protective Division, and in 2021, Biden awarded Cheatle with a Presidential Rank Award.

What does the director of the Secret Service do?

In Cheatle's role as director of the U.S. Secret Service, she is in charge of executing protection and investigations for the agency.

The workforce is composed of multiple divisions within the Secret Service including Special Agents, Uniformed Division Officers, Technical Law Enforcement Officers and Administrative, Professional and Technical personnel, according to the Secret Service's website .

What did Kimberly Cheatle do before the Secret Service?

Prior to becoming the Secret Service director, Cheatle worked for PepsiCo as the senior director in Global Security, according to her biography with the Secret Service . There, Cheatle oversaw and directed security protocols for the company's facilities in North America.

Cheatle was the agency's assistant director of the Office of Protective Details, prior to joining PepsiCo. She also served as the Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Atlanta Field Office. In that position, she provided oversight for all missions related to investigation, protective intelligence and protective visits in the state of Georgia.

When will the director of the Secret Service testify?

🚨BREAKING🚨 @RepJamesComer has invited U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing on Monday, July 22. Americans demand answers about the assassination attempt of President Trump. pic.twitter.com/zKia2oIxCf — Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) July 14, 2024

The hearing is expected to take place July 22, 2024, according to a letter from the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.

When was the Secret Service created?

Established in 1865, the U.S. Secret Service is one of the country's oldest federal law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division protects the White House Complex and Naval Observatory, according to the Secret Service's website .

One of the newest expansions of the Secret Service's protective missions includes the issuance of Presidential Decision Directives. This established the agency as the lead for coordinating the development and implementation of security plans for National Special Security Events. This covers presidential inaugurations, State of the Union Addresses and other events of national significance.

Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at  [email protected]  or follow her on Twitter at @ Kkealey17 .