Abstract
This paper is based on fieldwork on the emerging pattern of schooling in post-Apartheid South Africa: 1994–1999. The information was gathered in racially mixed suburbs that are home mainly to people of Indian and African backgrounds. The schools in these suburbs were attended only by people of Indian back-ground during Apartheid, but radically changed in their pupil compositions soon after the demise of segregationist politics. Children from African squatter camps, which developed within these suburbs, as well as from neighbouring African townships, began attending schools in these areas. The rapid increase in numbers gave rise to intense competition for space between Indian and African children in these schools. This movement of African children resulted in an outcry on the part of numerous Indian parents who were property owners and taxpayers in the suburbs where they lived. These parents then considered they had to re-evaluate their children's educational options. They sent their children to distant, previously “all white” schools, despite the excess cost involved. This paper examines the dynamics of this rapid transformation and comments on the way in which educational space has served to reinforce identities and to change aspirations and expectations among people of Indian origin in Durban, South Africa.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call