Catering for the youth

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday June 30, 2025 09:40

The children of Soweto in 1976 did it and invaluable lessons have been learnt. The young generation belongs to a very important constituency, worthy of some modicum of respect.

The one thing which young people have made unequivocally and emphatically clear, right from the June 16, 1976 mass massacre of innocent black children in then apartheid South Africa, is the right to quality and relevant education.

This is coupled with the right to participate in the making of the curriculum. It is often assumed that curriculum design is a preserve of trained professional experts who have the technical knowhow to prescribe the right medicine for their clients. But children are no longer ready for any spoon feeding. To avoid an explosive situation where young people would vent out their frustrations, curriculum designers should cater for the youth constituency when critical decisions about the curriculum are made.

Just to rehearse history. On June 16, 1976, the students of Soweto took to the streets to protest peacefully about the imposition of Afrikaans as a language of instruction in black public schools. It was an executive dictatorial decision made without any representation from the concerned constituency and this did not sit well with blacks who were already overwhelmed by the then discriminatory apartheid system of the time. What was intended to be a peaceful engagement turned out to be a bloody affair resulting in the loss of many innocent lives. But victory in the long run belonged to young people. The children are no longer content with becoming recipients of a curriculum they did not participate in its construction. Children demand the right to participate in the shaping of their own destinies, the right to be heard and to voice out their grievances. Through the painful 1976 Soweto massacre of children, the world is fully conscious of the fact that children have the right to say no - an emphatic no - to tyranny and the right to demand constitutional changes to accommodate youth issues. The children are saying nothing for us without us. When it comes to critical decision making on matters affecting the shaping of their lives and destinies, the children desire to play prominent and active roles.

The invaluable lesson inspired by past experiences is that they deserve a platform to express their aspirations and the right to be heard. This is non-negotiable. To achieve this end, the children don’t necessarily require favours from anyone but opportunities to prove their mettle. The June 16 Commemoration has become the one singular annual occasion affirming the value of student centered learning. I had the privilege and honour to attend the 2025 June 16 commemoration in Selebi-Phikwe as more of a spectator than a participant. By design, the programme was predominantly a student centred affair. The minor role I was asked to perform at the tail end of the proceedings permitted me to do more listening. And indeed I listened with great care as students took turns to share their vision of the world they relish so much. From the diverse and rich presentations made by students, it was clearly evident that ours is a multi talented generation. They are capable of anything. Those given a chance to deliver speeches demonstrated their oratory prowess while others showed that they have a significant role and place in the creative and performing industry.

This year’s commemoration offered the children a rare opportunity to demonstrate the value of self directed learning and the children did not disappoint in this regard. Children demonstrated passionate love for outside classroom activities - the right to play as they put it. They want to learn as hard as they play. Without sporting activities, they have endured for far too long sitting within the confines of the classroom where the teachers assume centre stage in the teaching and learning process. The children desire to lead not only in the classroom but also beyond.

The classroom environment limits their potential to grow and blossom into independent entities. It builds and entrenches a dependency syndrome. Confining the students to a much more formal and mundane class room environment limits their ability to unleash their potential. Among other things, the children rightfully used the June 16 commemoration to demand an immediate return of school sporting activities not only to hone their talents in various sporting codes but as a package of the right of children to relax and unwind after being subjected to a rigorous classroom instructional regimen. Outside formal classroom settings, students have always demonstrated capacity and enthusiasm to champion their own learning.

A less formal learning environment tends to bring out their very best selves when working in the atmosphere offering freedom and latitude to showcase their God given talents. When the right environment is created, students always exceed expectations. As if the demand for the return of school sports was not enough, the students, just like the children of Soweto in 1976, delved boldly and fearlessly into curriculum matters. They asked for the trimming of the curriculum to a manageable level consistent with their ages. To them they are currently contending with an overloaded and irrelevant curriculum, which is not serving their interests very well.

Over the years, I have always naively believed that students love and enjoy a much more diversified curriculum as it gives them an opportunity to explore their talents in an expanded field. Yes, the expansion of the curriculum menu could have some advantages but the youth constituency is saying a total of nine subjects is an overwhelming experience and something swift should be done about it. Having to do too much could be responsible for the present state of academic underachievement that continues to bedevil public schools in particular. It could be wise, just like in the old Cambridge overseas syllabi, to narrow the focus to seven subjects. Trimming the curriculum to a manageable size would give students more focus and bring about a much desired bias towards skills development. Currently the focus is on content, which is detrimental to the development of diverse skills the global economy is demanding.