Bantu Education, noun phrase
- Forms:
- Also with small initials.
- Origin:
- English, AfrikaansShow more Bantu adjective sense 2 b + English education; or translation of Afrikaans Bantoe-onderwys.
historical, now derogatory
Under apartheid, the official system of education for Black South Africans, initiated by the first Bantu Education Act (1953). Also attributive.
- Note:
- In official circles, education for Black people was usually termed ‘native education’ up to the early 1950s, ‘Bantu education’ from then until the late 1970s, and ‘Black Education’ thereafter; among left-wing groupings, however, ‘Bantu Education’ remained a common name for the education system designated for Black people. The former Department of Bantu Education was renamed the Department of Education and Training (see DET) in 1978.
1951 Report of Commission on Native Education (UG53–1951) 131We now turn to the question why it should be Bantu Education...Educational practice must recognise that it has to deal with a Bantu child, i.e. a child trained and conditioned in Bantu culture, endowed with a knowledge of a Bantu language and imbued with values, interests and behaviour patterns learned at the knee of a Bantu mother. These facts must dictate to a very large extent the content and methods of his early education.
1991 R.W. Johnson in Sunday Times 10 Feb. 21The curse of Verwoerd lies heavy upon the country: decades of Bantu education have done their dreadful work.
Under apartheid, the official system of education for Black South Africans, initiated by the first Bantu Education Act (1953). Also attributive.
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