A NOTE ON BANTU EDUCATION, 1953 TO 1970

In 1954 Hendrik Verwoerd, one of the main architects of the apartheid system, said that blacks ought not to be trained above certain "forms of labour". These words, often quoted out of context, are commonly interpreted as based on a view of black inferiority and as designed to keep blacks in a position of servitude. This note argues that other considerations should also be taken into account, including the need for providing appropriate labour on a mass basis in an industrialising society and for establishing control over urbanised black youths.