Firebrand academic Professor Jona\u00adthan Jansen says it is pointless introducing Mandarin in South African schools, when they cannot teach local languages.<\/p>\n
The vice-chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State pulled no punches during a speech in Durban on Wednesday, saying the state\u2019s declared intention to offer Mandarin at South African schools was nothing more than \u201cpolitical gat kruiping (<\/em>brown-nosing)<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n Jansen told the assembled academics that they were \u201ctraining barbarians who are racist and sexist\u201d.<\/p>\n He said until the country got the basics right, making the system \u201cfancy\u201d by introducing tablets into classrooms, for example, would not work.<\/p>\n Jansen was addressing the AGM of the KZN Central Applications Office, which was attended by leaders from the province\u2019s four universities and a number of private colleges.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see the need for introducing Mandarin when we can\u2019t seem to teach English, Afrikaans and Zulu first properly. Bringing in Mandarin is political gat kruiping<\/em>,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While falling short of calling for a complete overhaul of the education system, Jansen said educationists had allowed \u201cfailure to become the new norm\u201d.<\/p>\n Known for his bluntness and dislike of political correctness, he said one university in the province \u201ccontinued to dish out a type of Bantu education\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have all become complacent with this rubbish we call education. You have become institutionalised by keeping a dysfunctional system afloat.\u201d<\/p>\n However, while acknowledging that the universities had challenges, he said the \u201cbase of education is extremely weak\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a long-term plan to get out of this mess. We should be thinking like Singapore who look 20 years ahead, but instead we only see tomorrow. Our role models are also these dysfunctional people in Parliament, when they should be Steve Biko or Robert Sobukwe. [Instead] we are training barbarians who are racist and sexist. They may be trained [in a subject or career], but they are not educated.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the violent demonstrations held at universities annually by students was the result of a \u201clack of education\u201d, and was not entirely the students\u2019 fault because they had not been given the education required to make rational decisions.<\/p>\n He said the country had a \u201clazy culture\u201d, investing heavily in education but obtaining poor results.<\/p>\n Last year, the government signed an agreement with China to roll out a Mandarin programme over the next decade, while in March the state gazetted Mandarin to be listed as a second additional language.<\/p>\n Basil Manuel, president of teaching union Naptosa, said while teachers were still coming to terms with the relatively new CAPS curriculum, piling more into the system would make it harder to get the basics right.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are still coming to terms with introducing indigenous languages in schools. This should be a priority, or are we becoming another Chinese province?\u201d<\/p>\n He said the resources would be better spent on developing indigenous languages.<\/p>\n Education expert Les Stanley, who works with rural schools in the Midlands, said getting back to basics was absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the ground there are huge issues. Children learning English in rural areas are already struggling, not because they aren\u2019t intelligent but because they lack basic resources such as libraries.<\/p>\n Our focus needs to be rather on creating analytical minds. The introduction of Mandarin has dumbfounded me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n George van der Ross, CEO of the applications office, urged the provincial tertiary institutions to be open with the KZN Education Department and put pressure on the department to ensure that pupils studied maths and not maths literacy.<\/p>\n He also called on the universities to seek alternative methods of funding, away from the state, revealing that 60-80% of all students were on financial aid.<\/p>\n Questions sent to the KZN Education Department were not answered at the time of going to press.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n SA teachers, police to learn Mandarin<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on education in SA<\/h3>\n