Education is just a system

By Mamosa kekana

This piece is inspired by the movie '3 idiots'

Day in and day out you hear of students Dropping out of school, some Committing suicide because of societal expectations and the education system.
Which is 'learn, leave ,labour'. School has one systematical way of doing things and if you fail to comprehend you are challenging convention.
They teach you to memorise. In most cases it's never how you comprehend it. It's how the teacher wants you to understand it, failure to do so, will result in you getting flunked.
Although I have to commend the system for allowing the brain intellectual capacity. I have to also condemn it for crippling the brain to be narrow minded. To not dare to dream big, but rather get a degree, work for someone ,make them rich.

The cohesive elites 'academics' are given special treatment because they get "it'. They are separated from the rest. They are taught to compete or die because that's how the real world is. Then they start  looking down on the 'rest' because they are not of their level. And
Such creates animosity amongst a class who's main purpose was to learn and have fun while doing it. But instead there's educational segregation.

 Why can't we all be equal.Why can't we just choose 'not so serious'  courses like Arts, and be embraced as 'academics' ?
 WHY?
"We are all academics irrespective of the spectrum" Nqobile Sibisi

The bride price- ilobolo

By: Noxolo Nhlangothi

“In black communities fathers mostly believe in educating boy children further rather than girls.
 Grade 12 is usually seen as enough education for a girl child as opposed to boys…”

Firstly if we had to face facts we would be compelled to admit that black South Africans do not have money or stable financial plans even for their own future and their families. Young people on their side are left out to accumulate funds for themselves to study as most even work on the other side to pay for their own fees our parents also struggle if not at all they completely fail. Since education is the key to success if one is without it they completely fail in life.

How many of our brothers and uncles are working and getting underpaid because all that they had has been paid to their in-laws? How many out of those black brothers are sitting at home with their wives whom they paid ilobolo for and are not working?

Looking at how ilobolo came about one can just see that fathers never saw their girl children as smart enough to learn, work and help out in the families while on the other hand a father who has a boy child would also have their boy “buy” a girl from another family. In black communities fathers mostly believe in educating boy children further rather than girls. Grade 12 is usually seen as enough education for a girl child as opposed to boys who fathers would even sell their cows to send to schools.

Ilobolo is a culture most black families practice; young people grow up and follow through with it also even though they do not clearly understand. Some even get aggressive when they are asked about their feelings on this issue just to show how uncomfortable they are in discussing their cultural systems if the one who brings up the topic is bringing a different view. Young and old women on the other hand agree that it should be practiced further without even looking at the fact that they are the ones being sold.

Most young ladies end up as single mothers all because guys usually make them pregnant then run off since most families have no cows to “buy” the expecting bride from her family as this is what would be expected of him. Young women have defined love by how much the opposite sex has as this is what families require on the processes of their send off to some other ladies household to cook, clean and please the husband.

No aims to look down on culture is intended here but if the black people were to be honest and accept that indeed this is a set back and that it should be changed to help improve the financial status of many black families.

Girls are also human and have same brains and intellectual capacities as boys; they are not objects to be traded. Only the right education will help wash out this ideological way of life.