Unlocking Chains, Unlocking Doors: The Role of Education in South Afica by Pat McLendon

     It is said that “education is key” however, the saying in conversation never continues to say what doors that key unlocks. For underprivileged South African children, the key of education unlocks doors that lead the way out of their current situation. The lingering effects of apartheid can be seen in the eyes of both children and adults throughout the country. For many children, school provides a safe haven from the hardships of township life, and is eradicating traditional stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. In a nation with 25% unemployment, the unfair burden of illiteracy and undereducation has kept generations of “non-whites” out of well paying jobs, even in the post-apartheid South Africa. This generation are the parents of the “born frees,” children who never knew what it was like to live under Apartheid. These children are receiving an education at rates inconceivable under the previous government. Because of this, the literacy barriers which have prevented many members of their parent’s generation from rising into the middle and upper classes have been all but obliterated.

      In the book “Kaffir Boy” we read while abroad, we learned the story of Mark Mathabane. Mark, a former resident of Alexandra township, related his daily struggles under the apartheid system. In those days, schools required poor “non-white” children to buy their own textbooks and supplies in addition to paying fees to attend school. Through backbreaking hard work and financial help from his maternal grandmother, Mark’s mother was able to earn enough money for Mark to go to school, and eventually receive a tennis scholarship to a college in the United States. Under the apartheid regime, Mark’s case was extraordinary and unique. Many students were educated only to the point that they could afford, and no further.

     In addition to the empowerment education provides in the job market, the school environment itself serves as a safe haven for many children from the hardships of life in townships. While we were working at Ekukhawnyisweni primary school in Alexandra township near Johannesburg, one of the teachers told me just how important school was to some of the children. She told me that for many of the children, the free lunches provided would be the only meal they ate that day, and that some of the children either live with their grandmothers, or run the houses themselves and care for their other siblings. According to the teacher, such living arrangements arise due to the parent’s inability to care for the children because of drug addiction, or death from HIV/AIDS or any number of other causes. The school has a strict policy of non-discrimination against children infected with HIV, which is helping to de-stigmatize HIV infection.

     Historically, children infected with HIV would be treated as pariahs, but at Ekukhawnyisweni they play happily amongst their peers. Throughout the school, posters with red ribbons hang to raise awareness about HIV. These posters all present information about HIV transmission, and dispel myths about infection. One of the most striking posters was a hand-made poster in a grade four classroom. The poster read “My friend with HIV is still my friend.” I asked the teacher of that class about the poster, and whether or not many of the children in her classroom had HIV. She told me that while there were a few, she did not want to point them out to maintain their privacy. However, she did say that the children were just like any other students and were treated exactly the same both by their teachers and by their peers. Educating South Africa’s children isn’t just providing a leg up in the labor market, but is also building a generation of children with the knowledge to prevent HIV infection and remove traditional stigma which still affect HIV positive South Africans on a daily basis.

     Much in the same way that free public education dramatically altered the course of United States history (providing the fundamental early education for our current President), free education would likely have a dramatic effect on South Africa in kind. At present, only a few children receive completely free educations. Only children who are fortunate enough to earn high enough marks at “matric” (high school graduation) will be able to attend college or University for free. The rest of South Africa’s children still pay fees to attend school, which many still can’t afford. It is entirely possible that a child being educated in a township school today could grow up to be the next President of South Africa, the next Nobel Peace Prize winner, or even be the scientist who discovers the cure for AIDS once and for all. For South Africans, education is the key that is unlocking years of inequality, and opening the door to a path of seemingly unlimited possibilities.

Take a moment to reflect after reading this. Having been fortunate enough to be educated, what things in your life could you have not done if you had only gotten a basic education? What about no education at all?