I Heart Wits

During our two weeks in South Africa we visited two primary schools, three secondary schools, two Saturday schools for students in their final year of high school, and four universities. Our visit to University of Witwatersrand (Wits)—its campus lovingly referred to as a concrete jungle—particularly stands out in my mind. Although we only had a short time to look around the campus, I had a good feeling about the school.

We met with Nazir Carim and Misheck Ndebele, two professors at the School of Education. Dr. Carim described how Wits was a significant location for the anti-apartheid struggle. Winni Mandela led many rallies on the campus, in spite of the armored military vehicles that closed in on her and the crowd. Now I knew why I liked this school so much, its history was entrenched with the spirit of justice and forward thinking.

In our discussion with the two professors, we discussed policies of the newly democratic government, school curriculum, effect of HIV/AIDS on teachers and students, rural versus urban education, etc. A topic that particularly interested/upset me related to the literacy rates of students. Dr. Carim noted that any student, from primary level on, can engage in an informed conversation about rights and liberties, current events, and their opinions about the government, but just don’t ask them to write it down. According to the international TIMS study, an average sixth-grade student in South Africa has a second grade reading level and a student in third grade struggles to simply sound out words.

Then I wondered, what about the university students? Do they have decent reading and writing skills? Students that Drs. Carim and Ndebele encounter are brilliant thinkers but many still struggle to connect sentences together. Dr. Ndebele stressed that reading and writing are basic human rights that every person requires. If the professors at universities must go back to the very basics in order to equip their students with reading and writing skills to survive, then so be it.

Talking with these two extremely knowledgeable professors and learning more about the legacy of Wits, I left the school optimistic about the future of education in South Africa. Obviously students on all school levels are critical thinkers and thirsting to learn. The fact that many struggle with basic literacy is a large problem, a problem that may threaten to halt the growth of the country. However, with people like Carim and Ndebele and their young students, it feels like an obstacle that is possible to surmount.

-Emily Haghighi