Is affirmative action in education defensible?
Date
2014-05-20
Authors
Mabaso, Abraham
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Abstract
This study investigates the defensibility of affirmative
action in education. The struggle against apartheid society
and apartheid education has also been a struggle to build a
democratic society and a democratic way of learning.
For South Africa, the children's education should be
compatible with the ideals of democratic society. In order
to rectify the racist discrimination and insensitivity of the
apartheid regime we need to promote the ideal of complex
equality.
This report argues that affirmative action is not a defensible
strategy for the pursuit in education as part of the process
of consolidating democracy in South Africa. The notion of
equality is best understood in terms of Michael Walzer’s
concept of complex equality (as against simple equality). The
concept of complex equality can be used to explicate the
inadequacies of affirmative action. An account of education
is developed which emphasizes complex equality. The application
of affirmative action in education presupposes a shallow
understanding of education.
The pursuit of democracy through education is best promoted
through a notion of complex equality because it takes into
consideration the plurality of South African society.