Cosas demands free education‚ no Bantu education and no Afrikaans

The Congress of South African Students (Cosas) has called for Bantu education and Afrikaans to be scrapped at schools.

And it wants government and private sector to foster free education for South Africans.

These are among the many issues discussed at Cosas’s national press conference in Johannesburg on Friday. It highlighted demands for free school uniforms‚ safety and security on school premises and a feeding scheme.

Cosas national secretary general Khulekani Skosana said the organisation wants the curriculum of basic education to be restructured: “History must be made a compulsory subject and history of Africa should be taught to promote patriotism.”

He said Cosas was also calling for a “complete scrapping of Bantu education and Afrikaans”.

The organisation also believes “entrepreneurship must be taught in schools and learners must be assisted in open and registering businesses”.

It wants free education at technical and vocational education and training colleges “and formerly disadvantaged universities so that it benefits the poor”.

“Those institutions that have deeply commoditised education [will] continue selling it. Those who can afford to pay will go there and those who can’t will go and enrol in no fee institutions‚” Skosana said.

On a feeding scheme‚ he said: “More needs to be done to improve the quality of food offered‚ and breakfast should be introduced‚ especially in our primary schools.

"We want to eat what (Basic Education Minister) Angie Motshekga eats. If she eats the pap and soya provided at schools‚ we are happy to eat it too.”

Cosas wants different sporting codes to be introduced and libraries and laboratories built or improved – as well as sports facilities.

And corporal punishment must be eradicated‚ Skosana added.