Education must reject state of mental slavery Untransformed higher education system results in blacks rejecting own culture Tiisetso Makhele, The New Age, Johannesburg, 9 November 2016 Following protests that erupted last year, students in various universities and colleges throughout the country are involved in yet another #FeesMustFall protest. Academic activities have been halted in many institutions. Protest leaders say the overarching goal of these nationwide activities is the attainment of "free, decolonised higher education". For the purpose of this article, I will concentrate on the call for "decolonised" education. Due to the uncoordinated nature of the #FeesMustFall protests, there has not been a single, common definition of this term. What is this decolonised higher education and why are students fighting for it? Colonisation in South Africa began in 1652 with the arrival of the Dutch. The main goal of their agenda, which has been labelled "colonialism of a special type", was to institutionalise the dispossession of blacks through the exploitation of their labour, seizure of their land and property as well as the theft of their identity. Prof Padraig O'Malley, writing for the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, says: "Colonialist propaganda has emphasised the negative features of traditional African society, the relatively low development of productive techniques, the illiteracy, intertribal conflicts and wars, superstitions and poverty. It is true such features existed in traditional African society just as they did among all peoples at the period of early communal economies. But hostile propaganda has presented a distorted image." This propaganda laid a foundation for the establishment of the South African education system. As the main objective of the colonialist is to expand territory and power, the gradual erosion of the culture, traditions and values of the colonised is central for colonisation to be sustained. The education system serves as an important site where such propaganda was institutionalised in South Africa. More than 22 years after SA's democratic revolution, South Africans are yet to speak with confidence that the walls of colonialism have been dismantled in their totality. While a lot has been done to transform the country's education system, curricula in higher education institutions remain a reflection of a West-leaning higher education. The government is not blind to the reality of this "untransformed" higher education system. In his departmental budget vote speech in May last year, Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande said: "Despite the significance of symbols such as names and statues, we must not conflate these with more fundamental matters of transformation. "There remains an urgent need to radically change the demographics of our professoriate, transform the curriculum and research agendas, cultivate greater awareness of Africa, eliminate racism, sexism and all other forms of unjust discrimination, improve academic success rates and expand student support." The calls by students for decolonised higher education, among other demands, is therefore not off the mark. There a strong justification for the higher education system to reflect an African complexion, rather than the imported, West-leaning picture. A cursory look at how most educated blacks behave further adds impetus to the need to transform our education system. It would seem black South Africans become more susceptible to colonisation the more education they get. Once educated, most blacks are on a mission to get as far as possible away from blackness, and from other blacks. Most blacks who send their children to former white schools allow their children to be subjected to the worst forms of colonisation, including suppression of African languages, cultures, values and hairstyles. Some of these parents sit on the school governing bodies, practically endorsing the colonisation of the black child. It only took some brave, disillusioned 15 year olds to challenge colonisation taking place at schools like Pretoria High School for Girls, St Michael's School for Girls and others. Their educated black parents were conspicuously absent in these struggles. Most educated blacks reject and criticise the customs, traditions and beliefs founded by their great grandfathers like lebollo, phabadimo and belief in ancestors - but would be in the forefront defending imported values. Not so long ago, black academic and former UFS rector Prof Jonathan Jansen took a strange decision to cancel disciplinary charges against four white racist students who had made black university employees drink their urine. Jansen dropped the charges while criminal proceedings against the students were still under way and they were finally found guilty of crimen injuria by the Bloemfontein High Court in July 2010. In 2011, an educated black advocate and former public protector, Thuli Madonsela, decided not to investigate the claims that about R30bn was looted from state coffers under the apartheid regime and the government did nothing to retrieve the funds once it knew the extent of the plundering. Madonsela said the matter fell under the ambit of the public protector but opted to focus on other "urgent matters". There is no other option but to join the students in calling for decolonised higher education, for it is only through education that South Africa could be finally free from the bondage of mental slavery. . Tiisetso Makhele is an ANC member and Free State Premier Ace Magashule's spokesperson. He writes in his personal capacity. From: http://tnaepaper.co.za/DRIVE/main%20edition/09112016/epaperpdf/18.pdf __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 14414 (20161109) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. 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