SAE3701
ASSIGNMENT 02
SOLUTIONS
VBNMDFHGJ
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, Topic: The Soweto uprising in 1976 contributed largely in changing, among other
things, the landscape of the education system in South Africa.
The Soweto uprising (also known as the Soweto riots) started on the morning of June
16, 1976, and consisted of a number of rallies and demonstrations conducted by black
schoolchildren in South Africa. Following the adoption of Afrikaans as the language of
instruction in black schools, students from a variety of schools started to demonstrate in
Soweto. South Africa's sociopolitical environment saw a significant shift as a result of
the June 16 Uprising, which started in Soweto and extended throughout the nation.
Many students' political awareness was increased by the growth of the Black
Consciousness Movement (BCM) and the founding of the South African Students
Organization (SASO), while others joined the upsurge in anti-Apartheid feeling among
their peers. Black pupils started organizing themselves when Afrikaans and English
were required as a second language of teaching in schools in 1974. An estimated
20,000 students participated in the demonstrations.
They were met with fierce police brutality and many were shot and killed. The number of
pupils killed in the uprising is usually estimated as 176, but some sources estimate as
many as 700 fatalities. It was Wednesday. The young people who marched on 16 June
1976 recall a brisk morning, typical of the South African Highveld in mid-winter. After
morning assembly, where some sang Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika in place of the Lord’s Prayer,
students took to the streets. To heck with Afrikaans was the message that the group
intended to convey when they gathered at Orlando West, a location that was
purposefully kept secret from grownups.
The immediate aim for the June 16 demonstration was the imposition of Afrikaans as
the medium of instruction in schools. Political objections fused with pedagogical ones.
Afrikaans was the language of the most prominent white presence in townships, – the
police – and of the ruling National Party. Most students and many teachers could barely
speak Afrikaans, making it near impossible to learn or teach. Yet the 1974 decree
dictated that, alongside ‘mother tongue’ instruction according to ethnic grouping,
Afrikaans and English were to be used equally. This ruling intensified the frustrations of
Soweto’s school-going youth. The Bantu Education system had, since 1953, provided
underfunded schooling in overcrowded classrooms, with curricula designed to hem the
aspirations of African children and prepare them for limited futures in poorly-paid jobs.
Changes to this education system in the early-1970s both drastically expanded the
secondary school population and worsened the conditions under which they learned
(Hyslop: 1999).
Firstly, I am going discuss more about the lessons learnt from Soweto uprising protests
in 1976. Going forward I’m going to focus on the list of disadvantages and advantages
from students and educational system itself. I will conclude my essay by finding out
where these lessons still applicable to the youth of today.
1|Page
ASSIGNMENT 02
SOLUTIONS
VBNMDFHGJ
0|Page
, Topic: The Soweto uprising in 1976 contributed largely in changing, among other
things, the landscape of the education system in South Africa.
The Soweto uprising (also known as the Soweto riots) started on the morning of June
16, 1976, and consisted of a number of rallies and demonstrations conducted by black
schoolchildren in South Africa. Following the adoption of Afrikaans as the language of
instruction in black schools, students from a variety of schools started to demonstrate in
Soweto. South Africa's sociopolitical environment saw a significant shift as a result of
the June 16 Uprising, which started in Soweto and extended throughout the nation.
Many students' political awareness was increased by the growth of the Black
Consciousness Movement (BCM) and the founding of the South African Students
Organization (SASO), while others joined the upsurge in anti-Apartheid feeling among
their peers. Black pupils started organizing themselves when Afrikaans and English
were required as a second language of teaching in schools in 1974. An estimated
20,000 students participated in the demonstrations.
They were met with fierce police brutality and many were shot and killed. The number of
pupils killed in the uprising is usually estimated as 176, but some sources estimate as
many as 700 fatalities. It was Wednesday. The young people who marched on 16 June
1976 recall a brisk morning, typical of the South African Highveld in mid-winter. After
morning assembly, where some sang Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika in place of the Lord’s Prayer,
students took to the streets. To heck with Afrikaans was the message that the group
intended to convey when they gathered at Orlando West, a location that was
purposefully kept secret from grownups.
The immediate aim for the June 16 demonstration was the imposition of Afrikaans as
the medium of instruction in schools. Political objections fused with pedagogical ones.
Afrikaans was the language of the most prominent white presence in townships, – the
police – and of the ruling National Party. Most students and many teachers could barely
speak Afrikaans, making it near impossible to learn or teach. Yet the 1974 decree
dictated that, alongside ‘mother tongue’ instruction according to ethnic grouping,
Afrikaans and English were to be used equally. This ruling intensified the frustrations of
Soweto’s school-going youth. The Bantu Education system had, since 1953, provided
underfunded schooling in overcrowded classrooms, with curricula designed to hem the
aspirations of African children and prepare them for limited futures in poorly-paid jobs.
Changes to this education system in the early-1970s both drastically expanded the
secondary school population and worsened the conditions under which they learned
(Hyslop: 1999).
Firstly, I am going discuss more about the lessons learnt from Soweto uprising protests
in 1976. Going forward I’m going to focus on the list of disadvantages and advantages
from students and educational system itself. I will conclude my essay by finding out
where these lessons still applicable to the youth of today.
1|Page
