JONATHAN JANSEN: Education suffers as protesters add books to the fire
Libraries are destroyed by those in poor communities who have lost their sense of the value of education
In a poor, rural township about 66km west of Klerksdorp, with a sparse population, the government built a “state-of-the-art library” to the tune of R12m. The Letsopa Community Library was truly something special – it had a toy library section for small children and a library division for the blind. This rich educational resource had been serving the poorest of communities for the past five years. Then last week a group of locals got angry and burned the library down.
Think about it. We have white, privileged schools around SA with impressive facilities such as state-of-the-art computer labs and Astroturf surfaces for hockey existing a short drive from black schools where children drown in their own shit. Huge inequalities developed over more than a century. Then we start to rebuild, 25 years since the end of legal apartheid, and one of the things we do with taxpayers’ money is to build a modern, inclusive and accessible library in a dusty township so that our children can acce...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.