Decolonising of Education not only a cultural luxury, but also an economic necessity

16 July 2019

The decolonising of education is not only a cultural luxury, but also an economic necessity.

As long as children only have access to the world of knowledge and science through a medium of instruction that is not their mother tongue, broad-based economic empowerment will remain no more than a dream.

The colonised mindset means that a distant land’s language, knowledge system, value system and historical narrative are regarded as more important than the language, knowledge system, value system and historical narrative of the local community.

The FF Plus believes that education is firmly rooted in the cultural community and that the state is only supposed to fulfil an oversight role. In a decolonised country, decisions regarding education should not be taken by the province, but rather by the relevant cultural communities.

If certain communities want to delegate this capacity to the government or the province, then it should not oblige other communities to do the same.

In a previous debate, the Minister of Higher Education responded to statements made by the FF Plus in this regard by saying that he acknowledges Afrikaners' decolonising educational past, but cannot comprehend why Afrikaners later on joined forces with the imperial powers to oppress black people.

The FF Plus's response is why does the ANC, after coming into power, make use of colonial structures to oppress Afrikaners in the field of education?

Issued by Wynand Boshoff, FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson: Basic Education, 16 July 2019