Colonialism in South African and society is a problem and a disadvantage of modern society. This phenomenon is unacceptable and should be kept to a minimum. Many students still face the issues of colonialism in education. This fact is a consequence of the inability of the state to provide normal conditions and opportunities for the prosperity of the younger generation; this means that it is necessary to focus on this topic and improve this gap in the life of society. This work demonstrates the aspect of schooling that seems colonial, the statement of its decolonization, and the general conclusion about decolonization.
The legacy of colonialism in South Africa includes persistent economic inequalities. The demographic renewal did not smooth out the sharpness of the colonial legacy in the political and public consciousness (Tshikosi & Sekhula, 2021). “The country’s universities charge fees and bar many from higher education, perpetuating the marginalization of those previously disadvantaged by the apartheid regime” (Griffiths, 2019). Another example of the legacy of colonialism that I experienced is the failure to provide the necessary technical equipment to students for school. This type of manifestation of colonialism is also associated with persistent economic inequality, which negatively affects students’ quality of education. Naturally, students and their parents perceive this phenomenon unfavorably. According to Cremin and Guilherme (2015), it is necessary to develop peacekeeping and peacemaking in schools for the development of students and to avoid conflicts between them. The lack of necessary technical equipment for a certain group of students can serve, in addition to the colonization motive, as a reason for bullying and violence among different groups. Thus, the problem of the legacy of colonialism continues to this day, and this example is one of the few significant examples of inequality and colonial treatment of people that should be eradicated.
In the 1950s, people first thought about the decolonization of education in Africa through the struggle for decolonization against colonial rule. This principle is based on the denial of modern colonial education, which contained the transformation of colonized into colonial subjects and the subsequent deprivation of their humanity and any potential for a regular free existence and functioning (Abdi, 2012). Indigenous or non-European knowledge was subjected to pressure or, according to the theory of Boaventura de Sousa Santos, was subjected to a form of epistemicide, their expulsion from the canon of knowledge (Weber, 2020). This means that the knowledge of indigenous peoples, workers, or the literacy of African women was not taken into account.
Calls for the decolonization of education contain cognitive justice, increased coverage, and reworking of the canon of knowledge in Western cultures. “Also worth noting is the call for knowledge pluralization, which is based on the inclusion of complex ways of knowing subordinates and all previously excluded groups” (Fataar, 2018). All students of the global community should receive free education, which includes intercultural education and openness to people of other races and cultures. These approaches aim to eliminate the narrow focus of knowledge to disseminate and expand the scope of the recipients of education. Schools, colleges, and universities must nurture respect for all people, their cultures, and their education (Fataar, 2018). Educational institutions should provide students with the knowledge and, in particular, opportunities for their acquisition in all possible ways. Thus, the example of not providing technical equipment to students in schools can be criticized in decolonization.
Consequently, referring to the above theoretical data and practical examples, one can affirm the necessity and importance of the decolonization of education in South Africa. Colonization as a human principle has long since died out and is a relic of the past. The manifestation of the legacy of colonization in today’s society is strictly unacceptable and must be controlled through adherence to the above theories and principles. In the given practical example, it is worth changing the approach of state monetary calculations and providing all students with equal and necessary conditions. Schools should be funded to purchase the required equipment so that all students can receive knowledge equally, which will lead to compliance with the call for decolonization and equality.
References
Abdi, A. A. (2012). Decolonizing philosophies of education. Sense Publishers.
Cremin, H., & Guilherme, A. (2015). Violence in Schools: Perspectives (and hope) from Galtung and Buber. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 48(11), 1123–1137. Web.
Fataar, A. (2018). Decolonizing education in South Africa: Perspectives and debates. Educational Research for Social Change, 7(SPE), vi–ix. Web.
Griffiths, D. (2019). #FeesMustFall and the decolonized university in South Africa: Tensions and opportunities in a globalizing world. International Journal of Educational Research, 94, 143–149. Web.
Tshikosi, J. R., & Sekhula, P. L. (2021). Ethno-national colonialism in South Africa. International Journal of Social Science Research and Review, 4(3), 37–47. Web.
Weber, R. (2020). Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The end of the cognitive empire: the coming of age of epistemologies of the South. New Global Studies, 14(1), 102–105. Web.