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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 awards honorary doctorates during its centenary week

2004-10-07

The University of the Free State (UFS) will award 12 honorary doctorates on Thursday 14 October 2004 to a diverse group of outstanding South Africans and international experts.

This will be the last in a group of 18 honorary doctorates that the UFS will be awarding in its centenary year.

The awards comprise of a number of well-known language experts and writers, experts in higher education, first-time awards in community service and development studies, as well as music.

“This reflects quality and also diversity, a spectrum of convictions as well as the recognition of persons who played a major role in changing society in the last couple of decades, “ says Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

The awards can be grouped in the following categories:

Language and literature:

Mr Karel Schoeman (D Litt (hc)) – well-known Afrikaans author and former student of the UFS. Some of the awards he has received include the Hertzog prize for prose (1970, 1986 and 1995), the CNA prize (1972 and 1994), the Old Mutual prize (1985 and 1991), the SABC prize for best television drama in 1990, the M Net book prize in 1997 and the State President award (former President Nelson Mandela: Order for Excellent Service – silver) in 1999. It is an honor for the UFS to have this gifted and creative person among its former students. This conferment is a fitting recognition of his status as leading South African writer.

Ms Antjie Krog (D Litt (hc)) – well-known South African poet and former student of the UFS. Her popularity as poet is evident in her piercing honesty and unequalled power of expression. Some of the awards she has received include the Eugéne Marais prize in 1973, the Rapport prize in 1987, the Hertzog prize in 1990 and the RAU prize in 2000. Her writing has been translated into seven languages. She has also received numerous honors for her involvement in and journalistic documentation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) proceedings. It is therefore an exceptional privilege for her alma mater to honor her with an honorary doctorate.

Prof Jaap Steyn (D Litt (et phil) (hc)) – recently, Prof Steyn again distinguished himself as biographer whose thorough research is apparent in the published biographies of illustrious writers such as NP van Wyk Louw and MER. The numerous awards, among which the Stals prize from the South African Academy of Science and Art for the Van Wyk publication, are a matter of record. He conducted the research for this great prize-winning work as honorary professor at the UFS.

Prof Jakes Gerwel (D Phil (hc)) – Chancellor of the University of Rhodes and Director of Naspers, Old Mutual, Gold Fields and Brimstone. His doctoral thesis was published in The Netherlands under the title Literatuur en apartheid. Konsepsies van “gekleurdes” in die Afrikaanse roman tot 1948 (1983). He received an honorary doctorate from Clark College ( Atlanta), the City University of New York and Missouri in the USA, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, the University of Natal, Rhodes University, the University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Witwatersrand. He is also outstanding professor in the Humanities at the University of the Western Cape, honorary professor in the Humanities at the University of Pretoria, and was the chairman of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

Development Studies:

Dr Frederick van Zyl Slabbert (D Phil (hc)) – for his academic achievements, his endeavors for bringing about a peaceful transition in South Africa and his demonstration of the social investment role of the corporate sector. Dr Van Zyl Slabbert has received honorary degrees from the University of Natal and the Simon Fraser University in Canada. He has published seven books and various academic articles.

Community Service:

Prof Robert G Bringle (D Phil (hc)) – from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in the USA. He is currently Chancellor’s Professor of Psychology and Philanthropic Studies at the IUPUI and also Director of the IUPUI’s Centre for Service Learning. He is honored for his exceptional contribution to several of the UFS’s community service projects as well as his role in the advancement of a multi- and inter-disciplinary approach to academic development and the integration of service learning within the faculties of the UFS. He has also made a valuable contribution to the conceptual framework of the UFS’s unique community service policy and more recently to the advancement of a research culture regarding community service.

Higher education:

Dr Khotso Mokhele (D Phil (hc)), President of the National Research Foundation (NRF) is honored for his contribution to the South African higher education sector. He has also made a substantial contribution to the development of the research capacity of universities and technikons in South Africa. Dr Mokhele was born in Bloemfontein and matriculated at the Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu.

Prof Saleem Badat (D Phil (hc)), the Chief Executive Officer of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). Prof Badat has devoted himself to transforming and building South African higher education, and has constantly challenged the higher education sector to retain the moral basis of higher education and tackle its challenges with intellectual honesty, ingenuity, creativity and courage. He is honored for his intellectual leadership in the development of a equitable, just and quality higher education system in South Africa.

Law:

Prof HA (Boelie) Wessels (D Legum (hc)) – for his contribution to the fields of Roman Law, Legal History at the UFS. He is currently a part-time lecturer at the UFS’s Faculty of Law.

Medicine:

Prof CJC Nel (D Phil (hc) Posthumous) – for the way in which he strived for the advancement of excellent medical education in the country. Prof Nel also did pioneering work in the field of transformation in higher education. Under his guidance the School of Medicine at the UFS became one of the first medical schools to adopt a parallel-medium system of instruction.

Music:

Prof Leo Quayle (D Mus (hc)) – for the significant contributions he has made to the development of music – not only in Bloemfontein, but also on national level and abroad. His initiative, enthusiasm and dedication contributed to the eventual founding of the Free State Musicon, as well as the first symphony orchestra and the first string quartet in Bloemfontein. Prof Quayle is a former head of the Department of Music at the UFS.

Prof Jack de Wet (D Mus (hc)) – well-known for his exceptional contribution to violin tuition in South Africa. As pedagogue of international stature, he still moulds violinists who compete at national and international level. At an advanced stage of his career, he still actively conveys his knowledge, experience and distinctive insight in his field of speciality to yet another new generation of young violin teachers. Today the symphony orchestras in Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth also stand on the foundations laid by him.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
7 October 2004

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