Education before the National Party victory

Question 1

Who provided African education?

Answer 1

• The vast majority of education for African people was provided by church-run mission schools.
• In 1945 there were 4360 mission schools and 230 government run schools.

Question 2

1948 quality of schools?

Answer 2

• By 1948 the system was breaking down.
• With poor funding, often dilapidated buildings and insufficient resources, the schools could no longer maintain their standards.
• The raise in African populations and urbanization meant that they were vastly overcrowded and regularly had to turn prospective students away.
• The reality was that less that 33% of African children attended school at all.

Question 3

What was the Bantu Education Act, 1953?

Answer 3

• Removed control of African education from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry for Native Affairs.
• Removed state subsides from mission schools, so most were forced to close.
• Expanded the government-run system and set a limited vocational based curriculum.

Question 4

What was the work of the Department of Native Affairs like?

Answer 4

The work of the department of native affairs grew significantly, for example, the Act gave them management of 26,000 African teachers. In 1958 a separate Department of Bantu Education was created to meet this increased workload.