Introduction of Political Education for the Propagation of Democracy in Africa: Elements for Consideration, South Africa in Focus
AbstractPolitical education is very crucial if democracy is to mature in Africa, to achieve this important aim, the authors believe that all categories of teachers at African institutions should be provided with fundamental and advanced political education to propagate its niceties to advance and make democracy successful in Africa. Second, they explore how politics influence education with a focus on the political ideological influence that shaped South African society before in end of apartheid with a concluding focus on the political ideology of Steve Biko. This discussion is part three of a previous discussion held in this journal via vol.6, no. 6, December 2013 and vol.6, no.7, February 2014.IntroductionAfrica was branded as the 'dark continent' by colonialists because they knew nothing about Africa - physically, politically, traditionally or culturally. However, when the sun shinned over the continent and the darkness of the colonialists fears dispersed; another form of deliberate political dehumanization started; hence, the apartheid focused political ideology of South Africa based in a brutally enforced politics of racial segregation endorsed by White a minority government.Through this deliberate act of political dehumanization the apartheid government created and nurtured social and political problems that could be comparable to the mass murder/genocide of approximately six million Jews during the World War II run by Nazi Germany and led by Adolf Hitler, known as the holocaust. And in its likeness, the apartheid political system of South Africa led its adherents to psychologically indoctrinate their people to falsely believe in white supremacy. The fight to end this obnoxious political philosophy led to protracted hatred, attacks and alienation in South African society and beyond, ripping to neighbouring countries like the Kingdom of Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.Nevertheless, in 1994, the New South Africa ushered in a political ideology of reconciliation, and thus there was need for a new political education that would help all South Africans that would be the core purpose of political education. Thus, when all South Africans have received a new democratic political ideological education that will open consciousness and create a change in think thinking will social justice and human rights be attained and practically put into practice for the benefit of all citizens of the 'Rainbow Nation' as coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu after the post-apartheid election in South Africa in 1994.In retrospect, South Africa has had a problem, it has had a group of selfish White settlers seeking to have and retain everything in the country, irrespective of who is left with nothing (Motlhabi, 1987). And unlike other countries on the planet earth, South Africa has had a history of political education based on racial segregation officially endorsed and enforced by the government for over half a century (Berki, 1977). This deliberate political act of ideological dehumanisation of one racial group by another has indeed been the most inhuman act to be instituted against human beings on earth.Apartheid can best be defined as the deliberate political and social upliftment of the political and educational consciousness of the White South African as against the deliberate down trodding of the political and educational consciousness of the majority Black South African. This act of political and educational dehumanization created and nurtured a problem in which the whole world, overtly and covertly was called upon to intervene in bring it to an end (Motlhabi, 1987; Mathonsi, 1988; Joyce, 1990; Moyana, 1989).The official political and educational institutionalisation of the apartheid political ideological policy led its adherents to psychologically indoctrinate their kit and kin to falsely believe that White people are super-human, while Black people are simply sub-human (Marks & Trapido, 1987). …