By Lesego Digaoto
June 16 is known for remembering the youth of 1976 for how courageous they were by standing against the unjust educational system. We remember their bravery, their voices, and their sacrifice.
However, remembrance alone is not enough. The day also demands a question, one that may be uncomfortable to ask.
Is this the education the youth fought for?
The learners of 1976 fought for more than classrooms and textbooks. They fought for dignity. They fought for the right to learn freely, to think independently, and to build a future that was not determined by the system of oppression. Education was not merely a path to employment; it was a path to liberation.
Today our schools are no longer divided by apartheid laws. More of children have access to education and in many ways, progress has been made.
Yet one cannot help but ponder on whether education has become a race rather than a journey.
What we see in classrooms today is that learners ask, ‘Will this be in the exam?’ rather than ‘why is it true?’ Successes are often measured by percentage, distinction, and pass rates. Understanding has become secondary to performance. The goal is no longer to learn, but to survive the next test, the next term, the next grade. We traded the pursuit of knowledge for the comfort of a pass mark.
Perhaps the greatest irony is that education, which should teach us how to question, often teaches us how to repeat. We are awarded for giving correct answers, not always for asking the right questions.
The youth of 1976 challenged a system because they believed education should empower people. They understood that knowledge is not simply stored in the mind, but it is the ability to think critically about the world around us.
If education becomes only a ladder to the next grade, then we have lost something valuable. A school should not merely prepare learners for examinations. It should prepare them for life, citizenship, leadership, and wisdom.
June 16 should therefore be more than a day of remembrance. It should be a day of reflection. We must ask ourselves whether our education system is creating independent minds or test takers.
The youth who marched in 1976 fought for the right to learn. The question for us today is whether we are truly learning or merely passing.
And perhaps that is the most important question June 16 leaves with us.
