Don’t blame the victim

Harry Sewlall’s letter, “Let’s tell our students the brutal truth” (June 13), though devoid of truth, is certainly brutal.

It is a shock (though no surprise) to realise that our young people are at the mercy of “educators” with attitudes that should have been buried with the British Empire.

He asks that the brutality facing thousands of students in our country — of having English forced down their throat as a medium of instruction — be held against them: a classic case of blaming the victim.

He starts off by talking about how students struggle with English, and then goes on to draw conclusions about their “competence”. This recalls an insightful statement by Pathiswa Tshangana: “The intellectual capabilities … of any black person are judged on how well they speak English. This kind of assessment is not only culturally biased, but unconstitutional and morally unacceptable in the heterogeneous and democratic society we claim to be.”

Our Constitution recognises 11 official languages and protects the right of all South Africans to be educated in the language of their choice. It also prohibits discrimination on the basis of language. Moves are afoot to implement the sound principle of mother-tongue education in practice.

The day will come when the “intellectual capabilities” of educators will be judged on how well they speak their students’ home languages.

— Gerrit Brand, Department of Philosophy, Stellenbosch University

Gerrit Brand’s letter that appeared in the Mail & Guardian of 27th June 2003. Reprinted with permission.

boontoe

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