Grade 8 Learners are often given a task in term 3 to locate and ask people who were affected by the Bantu Education Act of 1953 in terms of how this act affected them.
How to Find the Right Person to Interview
Expect your candidate to be in his or her seventies to nineties. This person would have been a child or a teenager during the time of implementation of the Act in the 1950’s and the 1960s.
If you are to choose candidates, they should be a Black South African who went to school before and after the Act was passed. These means they can by instances explain how things were done with the old education system and how they are being done with the new system.
The right person could have done all sorts of things like manual labor or domestic help, this was the norm for people who had little education during that period.
Perhaps you will meet somebody who belonged to one of the communities that attempted to resist the Bantu Education Act. They could have been involved in all manners aimed at improving education or even fighting system.
Ideally, they should be able to discuss about years of Bantu Education Act in their own life, their families and the community. They should not be closed-minded and not be shy to share their own stories.
List of 10 Interview Questions on Bantu Education and Answers
Below we list the 10 interview questions examples that you can ask a person who was affected by the Bantu Education Act.
1. How did the Bantu Education Act impact your education when it was introduced?
Expected Answer: The interviewee may talk about how the Act limited their access to quality education, enforced segregation, or changed the curriculum to focus on manual labour and limited academic subjects.
2. What changes did you notice in your school environment after the Act was implemented?
Expected Answer: The person might mention overcrowded classrooms, a decrease in the quality of teaching materials, or a shift in the attitudes of teachers and students towards education.
3. How did the quality of education differ before and after the Bantu Education Act?
Expected Answer: The interviewee could describe a decline in educational standards, the introduction of inferior materials, or the narrowing of subject choices aimed at preparing them for menial jobs.
4. Can you describe how the Act influenced your future opportunities and career choices?
Expected Answer: The person may discuss how the limited education under the Act restricted their career options, pushing them into low-paying jobs or preventing them from pursuing higher education.
5. What subjects were you taught under the Bantu Education system?
Expected Answer: The interviewee might list subjects like basic literacy, numeracy, and manual labour skills, contrasting them with the more advanced subjects taught in white schools.
6. How did the Bantu Education Act affect your teachers and their ability to educate students?
Expected Answer: The person may talk about how teachers were demoralised, under-resourced, or forced to teach a curriculum that they didn’t believe in, which affected the overall quality of education.
7. Were there any protests or resistance against the Bantu Education Act in your community? If so, how did they impact you?
Expected Answer: The interviewee might recount stories of community resistance, student boycotts, or how these actions inspired them or led to a sense of solidarity or fear.
8. How did the Bantu Education Act affect your sense of identity and self-worth?
Expected Answer: The person could discuss feelings of inferiority, frustration, or how the Act shaped their perceptions of their place in society.
9. In what ways did your family and community react to the changes brought by the Act?
Expected Answer: The interviewee may describe how their family might have struggled to support them, or how the community came together to find alternative education methods.
10. Looking back, how do you think the Bantu Education Act has influenced the broader South African society?
Expected Answer: The person might reflect on the long-term effects, such as economic disparities, ongoing educational challenges, or the resilience and resistance it fostered in communities.
