Read more
Picture for illustration: iStock
With South Africa mired in myriad crises and the ANC’s promised “better life for all” a mere mirage for many citizens, it has become predictable for President Cyril Ramaphosa to blame the apartheid era for any and all current woes.
Yet, in pointing the finger at “Bantu education” for the current appallingly low levels of literacy among young school-goers and claiming the ANC has been struggling to make inroads in the past 31 years, Ramaphosa is daring to be fact-checked.
So we will.
Let’s take Zimbabwe as an example, because the story of the struggle against a minority-run, race-classified state is almost indistinguishable from our own.
In 1980, when Zimbabwe attained independence the incoming leader, Robert Mugabe, made education his top political and budget priority.
Resources were poured into schools, especially in rural areas, teachers were paid reasonably well and respected in the community.
The result: the literacy rate in Zimbabwe is 91%, compared with a sub-Saharan average of 66%.
By comparison, our own state-private sector “2030 Reading Panel” released a report showing that 80% of Grade 3 pupils cannot read for meaning in any language, including home language.
ALSO READ: SA’s literacy crisis deepens: Here’s how many Grade 3’s can’t read for meaning
In Zimbabwe, there was very little time spent blaming the previous white minority government, but rather a shared sense of commitment and pride in becoming some of the best-educated people in Africa.
That still shows in the current Zimbabwean diaspora, as people have gone on to succeed in countries around the world. Today education is in a mess in Zimbabwe.
But that does not change what the independent government achieved.
The Zimbabwe experience shows that if we have a united focus on fixing, not finger-pointing, then greatness beckons.
NOW READ: Treat literacy as a national emergency
Download our app