The impact of South African legislation (1948-2004) on Black education in rural areas: a historical educational perspective

Abstract

Rethinking education in rural areas firstly requires reviewing different legislation from a historical perspective and then reconsidering the place of education in the current rural development debate. To a large extent, rural areas have been neglected in development policies and similarly, the rural dimension of basic education issues, especially in South Africa, has been largely overlooked. Basic facts and figures, as elaborated in this thesis, shed light on the need to devote more attention to rural education.

In this thesis, South African legislation in relation to basic education for Black people in rural areas during the colonial period up to the democratic era was investigated. The impact of South African legislation on Black education in rural areas is difficult to unravel and solve overnight since its thinking and practice was consolidated over centuries. However, an attempt was made to determine what the policymakers, mostly White dominated governments who ascribed to segregatory and racial attitudes, did to ensure that different policies enshrined in various legislation impacted negatively on education of people predominantly residing in rural areas.

The research affirmed that education of Black people in rural areas was, in most instances negatively impacted by policies of previous White governments. The apartheid government (1948-1993) used poor funding strategies to ensure that there were low teacher-pupil ratios and teacher qualifications. Unequal pattern of education spending continued well into the democratic era. This poor funding which impacted negatively on, especially rural schools, made infrastructural provision in rural areas difficult.

Even though the democratic government have competitive legislative policies in place, it was concluded that educational policies since 1994 were hastily implemented and insufficient consideration has been given to the contextual realities in South African schooling, particularly in rural areas. Hence the democratic government still need to give grave attention to the issue of education in rural areas.