We need to introduce social justice education

Many challenges in our school education system, writes

from Pietermaritzburg

Saeed

AMohamed

s we embark upon another new school academic year, it can be a challenging time for students, parents and even teachers. Knowing that the education of the masses in South Africa is faced with many huge challenges, I humbly appeal and beg all stakeholders to work in synergy in order to provide quality education to all our children.

In South African classrooms, due to apartheid, the two tier education system and social inequality, the challenges are even greater.

Therefore, I believe that social justice education must be introduced into the curriculum.

This will help the general aim of change in post-apartheid South Africa and help nation building and create a more just and democratic society, where the majority of the population can share in the wealth and resources of the country and accomplish individual and collective capabilities.

Compassion, self-reflection, self-evaluation, collaboration and effective communication, amongst others, are important instruments for effective curriculum delivery in the classroom.

The professional teacher must realise that teaching is a principled profession and in order to be effective, teachers must become a career-long pupil of more advanced systems in order to bring about continuous improvements.

By introducing social justice education and by deconstructing primarily from the dominant culture and reconstructing it with social justice and human rights objectives, communities that have been weakened by apartheid can heal and progress.