THENEWSOUTHAFRICA
apartheid era, and by June 2000 in areas ranging from the Alexandra
township, Johannesburg, to Potchefstroom in the North West province,
students were disrupting classes and defying the government. Many
schools in Alexandra were reportedly controlled by gun-toting youths.
During the May 2000 work stoppage, there were running battles between
students and police in Alexandra, and when Steve Tshwete, Minister of
Safety and Security, gave a tongue-lashing address to the students, they
chanted and booed and the CaSAS
president threatened to hold him
hostage. lOS In July 2000, a UNESCO study found that grade 4 South
African pupils had among the worst numeracy, literacy, and life skills in
Africa. In a test involving pupils in 11 other African countries-
Bo-
tswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Senegal,
Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia-the
South Africans ranked last in numer-
acy, second last in life skills, and fifth last in Iiteracy.I''? That was a dread-
ful augury for the future of a country where a dearth of skills was already
one of its greatest weaknesses.
Government-funded higher education continued to decline. The schools
were not producing enough people qualified for university entry. In 1999,