FOCUS ON YOUTH & EDUCATION

Very few can deny that South Africa is going through an organic crisis which is reducing South African life to resemble, in the words of renowned South African journalist and labour analyst, Terry Bell, “an often-grotesque satire.”[1] It is what the Italian philosopher, Antonio Gramsci, would refer to as a confluence of crises in nearly every sphere of society. Indeed, the term “organic crisis” is synonymous with Gramsci.

 

Elements of the crisis in South Africa include high rates of unemployment, persistent and mass poverty, extreme inequalities, crime, substance abuse, dysfunctional state entities such as national departments of health, law enforcement and education, as well as municipalities and parastatal entities such as Eskom and Transnet, to mention but a few.

 

A question that imposes itself on us is how to address this deepening crisis and what role organisations such as SIRC see themselves playing.

 

In many ways, when faced with the severity and depth of the crisis facing South Africa, one is reminded of the approach of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time”.

 

SIRC takes a leaf out of Archbishop Tutu’s book. For SIRC, no single blow will overcome the crisis that torments this country; it will need hundreds of little ones. In this respect, SIRC has chosen to focus on youth and education.

 

Why the youth and education?

 

Research shows the youth are at the receiving end of the South African crisis. They are the ones who feel the worst impact of unemployment. Millions of the estimated 15m people living in abject poverty are children who, as Terry Bell has observed, “will bear the long-term consequences, growing into adulthood with their potential, physically, intellectually and emotionally stunted”. High incidents of crime and substance abuse are also associated with the youth.

 

There is thus a desperate need to focus on the youth. They are, after all, the leaders of tomorrow, and it is important to build them into capable and confident human beings who are clear about what they want and can make informed assessments and decisions.

 

For this to happen, SIRC is of the view that the youth should be well read and trained to be able to think critically. SIRC takes seriously the adage of Socrates and the ancient Greek philosophers more broadly, that an informed citizen is better than an uninformed one. For the ancient Greek philosophers, a good citizen is one who values moral and intellectual integrity, and who takes decisions based on following the argument where it leads her/him.

 

The high drop-out rate of learners is another indication of the education crisis. A 2011 report of the Department of Basic Education made a staggering revelation that half the learners who start Grade One drop out before they complete Grade 12. These are adolescent boys and girls who are vulnerable to substance abuse, crime, teenage pregnancy and so on.

 

SIRC’s mission is to contribute towards resolving the “youth crisis”, primarily through research, establishing an information centre and collaboration with organisations that share a similar mission and vision.

 

 

[1] Inside Labour – email message sent to Professor Lungisile Ntsebeza on 10 April 2023