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Is the school curriculum letting us down in postcolonial South Africa?

06 May 2021 | Story Dr Bekithemba Dube | Photo Supplied

DrDube_web read more — Dr Bekithemba Dube is a senior lecturer at the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus and is a curriculum specialist and prolific researcher in the field of education, religion and politics in postcolonial Africa.

The death of 15-year-old Lufuno Mavhunga - who died from an overdose after being bullied at school - is a fresh reminder of the unresolved social crisis within the corridors of the classroom. While death is part of the human journey and is a reminder that humans are mortal. It is unfortunate that schools are becoming shrines of terror, social disintegration and a death trap. Each day South African society is confronted by various abuses in schools which mirror the society at large. Durkheim’s observation is that schools are a miniature of society. Parents and educational stakeholders become unsure if their children will make it home as they are continually confronted by terrors such as bullying, body shaming, xenophobic attacks and rape.

Lufuno is one of the many learners in South Africa who succumbed to school violence within and outside the classroom. School violence has not only affected learners but educators and principals too, and is unfortunately perpetrated by their peers, who in normal circumstances should learn, live, and address social problems together. Continued school violence is contrary to the functionalist view that schooling creates homogeneity and social cohesion. Thus, Lufuno’s death is far from attesting to the ability of the curriculum to re-invent a society that believes in non-violent means of resolving conflict.

Before examining the curriculum, let me remind readers of the magnitude of the problem at hand in relation to school violence manifested through bullying, body shaming and in some cases killings. Lufuno follows other victims of school violence. For example, Tshepo Mphehlo, 14, was stabbed to death at Sebokeng High School. Another student was stabbed to death at Eesterivier School in the Western Cape in 2020. Similarly another was stabbed to death by a classmate at Eastwood Secondary School in Pietermatrizburg in 2019, not forgetting a learner who was also stabbed to death at Reunion Secondary School in Isipingo in 2019. The victims are multiple and should be a concern to all peace-loving citizens. As part of problematising school violence, I will focus on the limitations of the school curriculum in South Africa.

The curriculum should be evaluated in terms of its ability to produce a learned people with the ability to engage in peaceful and non-threatening strategies for conflict resolution. Thus in this opinion paper I share the limitations of the curriculum that fail to address social pathologies such as school violence as evidenced by the death of Lufuno and many others.

Life Orientation is a disappointing citizenship education

The peace and stability of any successful nation is anchored on the strong foundation of citizenship education. With reference to South Africa, the introduction of Life Orientation teaching was seen as a brilliant means to instil good citizenship among learners. However, while the intentions of introducing the subject were good, the implementation has proven unsuccessful in teaching humanity among learners. In some cases, the subject is taught by educators not trained for it, or who have failed in other subjects thus failing to evoke humanity, tolerance and human dignity in the face of conflict. Should citizenship through education be taken seriously, I am sure the subject would contribute to a tolerant society, committed to embracing human dignity despite colour, race and other social variables.

Lufuno and the accused had a conflict, which is part of human nature, the Life Orientation curriculum should have been a source for bringing about a peaceful resolution of their differences. However, since the subject is not taken seriously at schools, I am sure they saw no reason to apply Life Orientation principles to the conflict which unfortunately culminated in Lufuno’s death.

Curriculum as job security and the demise of humanness

The curriculum in South Africa is preoccupied with the need to produce learners who will fill the ever-existing skills shortages. As such, there is an emphasis on skills development with much of the curriculum’s energy used to produce competent learners, which in turn creates job security that is ideal for the expectations of parents and the corporate world. But it has come at a cost especially because less emphasis is placed on the human sciences as an integral part of a successful nation. It is critical that the school curriculum produces balanced learners who have the ability to perform well in subjects that gear them for jobs, but also placing value on the human sciences that cement good citizenship. Lufuno’s death is a reminder that a school curriculum that does not balance education that offers job security and inculcates humanness results in social trajectories such as school violence.

By the way, what did we say about religious education?

The year 2008 saw the demise of religious education at most South African public schools. Very few schools still offer the subject. It was seen as useless, and debates arose in terms of which religion should be on the curriculum. While religious education had its problems like any other subject, no one can doubt its ability to teach morality, an integral part of humanity lacking in many ways at South African schools. Religion and its teaching reminds people of the relationship they have with a divine being yet calling for accountability on the treatment of fellow citizens. Now that the subject is not taught at school, learners are deprived of learning about social responsibility and being accountable to God for their actions. Morality, characterised by tolerance and peace, is lacking among many learners, hence the unending school violence. The South African school curriculum is limited by overemphasising natural sciences at the expense of subjects that belong to the human sciences, such as religion. Lufuno’s death is a reminder that morality in a curriculum is indispensable in reinventing education that benefits learners by inculcating in them a high standard of morality.

The suffering soul of the teacher:

How far can teachers engage in the loco-parenting role? Seemingly, whenever teachers are confronted by the need to implement a loco-parenting role, they are met with resistance, anger, and ridicule. I remember a teacher who was blamed for combing learners hair at school. To me, the teacher was exercising her loco-parenting to make learners more presentable. However, some social media users saw her as an uncivilised teacher and unworthy to be in the schooling system. It is because of this, that teachers fold their hands and neglect the care role of a teacher. With reference to Lufuno, if teachers were allowed to exercise their loco-parenting role, I am sure they could have intervened in the conflict, as parents, and resolved the issue. But now since teachers have often been blamed for acting as parents within the schooling system, they have withdrawn their loco-parenting role, and we have lost Lufuno. Society should allow teachers to exercise a loco-parenting role within the confines of social justice, and care without the use of corporal punishment.

In conclusion, Lufuno’s story is disheartening, and unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to bring her precious soul back. But we have an obligation to society to continue problematising violence. The moment we teach learners that violence is normal, we pass on the mentality to the younger generation and each day we will continue to bury victims of school violence. Yes, today it’s Lufuno. Tomorrow it will be me or you. Thus the school should be part and parcel of reinventing a society that values non-violent means to resolve conflict.

Opinion article by Dr Bekithemba Dube, School of Education Studies, University of the Free State (UFS).

News Archive

UFS to investigate implementation of quality-monitoring system for SA food industry

2006-02-07

Some of the guests who attended the workshop were from the left Prof James du Preez (Chairperson: Department of Biotechnology at the UFS); Prof Lodewyk Kock (Head: South African Fryer Oil Initiative (SAFOI) at the UFS)); Mrs Ina Wilken (Chairperson: South African National Consumer Union (SANCU)); Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS) and Mr Joe Hanekom (Managing Director of Agri Inspec).
Photo: Stephen Collet

UFS to investigate implementation of quality-monitoring system for SA food industry

The University of the Free State (UFS) will be investigating the implementation of a quality-monitoring service for the South African food industry.

This was decided during a workshop to discuss the external quality monitoring in the edible oil industry of South Africa, which was recently held at the UFS.

Major role players in the fast-food sector like Nando's, Spur, Captain
Dorego's, King Pie Holdings, Black Steer Holdings, etc and various oil
distributors like Felda Bridge Africa, Refill Oils, PSS Oils and Ilanga Oils attended
the workshop. Also present was Mrs Ina Wilken, Chairperson of the South African National Consumer Union (SANCU) and key-note speaker of this workshop. She represented the consumer.

These role players all pledged their support to the implementation of this quality- monitoring system for the whole food industry.

The decision to implement this system follows the various malpractices reported in the press and on TV concerning food adulteration (eg the recent Sudan Red Scare), misrepresentation (eg olive oil scandal exposed in 2001) and the misuse of edible frying oils by the fast-food sector.

“One of the basic rights of consumers is the right to safe food. Consumers must be protected against foods and food production processes which are hazardous to their health. Sufficient guarantee of the safety of all food products and food production processes should be implemented. It does not help to have adequate food standards and legislation and there is no manpower to do the necessary investigation or monitoring,” said Mrs Wilken.

The South African Fryer Oil Initiative (SAFOI), under the auspices of the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology, currently monitors edible oils in the food industry and makes a seal of quality available to food distributors.

“Last week’s decision to implement the quality-monitoring system implies that we will now be involving also other departments in the UFS Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences who are involved in various aspects of the food chain in an endeavor to implement this quality monitoring system,” said Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS and one of the main speakers at the workshop.

Prof van Schalkwyk said that the main aim of such a system will be to improve the competitiveness of the South African food industry. “It is clear that the role players attending the workshop are serious about consumer service and that they agree that fraudulent practice should be monitored and corrected as far as possible. Although some of the food outlets have the capacity to monitor the quality of their food, it may not seem to the consumer that this is an objective process. The proposed external monitoring system would counteract this perception amongst consumers,” said Prof van Schalkwyk.

The workshop was also attended by representatives from SAFOI and Agri Inspec, a forensic investigation company collaborating with inter-state and government structures to combat fraud and international trade irregularities.

Agri Inspec has been working closely with SAFOI for a number of years to test the content of edible oils and fats. “Extensive monitoring and control actions have been executed in the edible oil industry during the past four years to ensure that the content and labeling of oil products are correct. Four years ago almost 90% of the samples taken indicated that the content differed from what is indicated on the label. This has changed and the test results currently show that 90% of the products tested are in order. However, to maintain this quality standard, it is necessary that quality monitoring and educational campaigns are continuously performed,” said Mr Joe Hanekom, Managing Director of Agri Inspec.

“The seal of quality presented by SAFOI should also be extended to include all the smaller oil containers used by households,” Mrs Wilken said.

The SAFOI seal of quality is currently displayed mainly on some oil brands packed in bigger 20 liter containers, which include sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil etc which are used by restaurants and fast food outlets. “Any oil type is eligible to display the seal when meeting certain standards of authenticity. In order to display the seal, the distributor must send a sample of each oil batch they receive from the manufacturer to SAFOI for testing for authenticity, ie that the container’s content matches the oil type described on the label. This is again double checked by Agri Inspec, which also draws samples countrywide from these certified brands from the end-user (restaurant or fast food outlets). If in breach, the seal must be removed from the faulty containers,” said Prof Lodewyk Kock, Head of SAFOI.

“It should however be taken into account that oils without a seal of quality from the UFS can still be of high quality and authentic. Other external laboratories equipped to perform effective authenticity tests may also be used in this respect,” said Prof Kock.

“It is also important to realise that any oil type of quality such as sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, palm oil etc can be used with great success in well controlled frying processes,” he said.

Further discussions will also be held with the Department of Health, the SA National Consumer Union and Agri Inspec to determine priority areas and to develop the most effective low-cost monitoring system.

More information on the UFS oil seal of quality and oil use can be obtained at www.uovs.ac.za/myoilguide

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
6 February 2006

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