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Educ
ation Minister Kader Asmal has shot down the idea that South
Africa's Constitution has been inherited from the West. Speaking at
a conference in Johannesburg yesterday, Prof Asmal said such ideas
were "historically inaccurate" because South Africa called
attention to liberal ideals, democracy and equality and the country
saw the West as violating those ideals. "It is bad history. It is
historically inaccurate to assume that liberal ideals, such as
human rights, were a product of the West. The notion of human
rights is truly universal because it arises whenever and wherever
people are oppressed and struggle for liberation. "...our
leadership often called attention to liberal ideals of citizenship,
democracy, and equality, not because they had 'inherited' those
ideals from European colonists, but because they saw their colonial
masters consistently violating those ideals," said Prof
Asmal.
He said when the country drafted the Constitution and a Bill of
Rights for a democratic South Africa, they were derived from
historical struggles to decolonise the country.
Prof Asmal said the only way that the country's democracy could
flourish, was if an inclusive education system was created and that
was done through the National Curriculum Statement for Grades 10 -
12.
He said the statement ensured that values and a human rights
education were infused in every subject to empower students to make
sound judgements that would contribute to equitable and sustainable
development of human society and the physical environment. "The
subject equips and encourages students to challenge social and
environmental injustices. Knowing the devastating effects of
apartheid geography in the history of South Africa, this approach
was the most logical and most appropriate to adopt," said the
minister. Prof Asmal said the new curriculum also advocated the
approach that teaching was only effective if it was
action-oriented, where learners would "learn through doing".
An active human rights education is based on action-oriented,
'learning through doing' approaches that provide opportunities for
young people to experience the lessons of human rights that come
from participating in real life issues in communities.
"For example, learners can be active in creating a human rights
barometer for their neighbourhoods and then organise to address
whatever human rights abuses they might find. "Or they can be
active in volunteering at various community development projects
and documenting what they learn," said Prof Asmal. – BuaNews.