An unfinished struggle for inclusive and equitable education

The 16 June 1976 Soweto Uprising formed a critical part of the opposition to apartheid injustices. Learners resisted the imposition of Afrikaans as a language of instruction in schools and demanded an end to Bantu Education. Four decades later, in 2015 and 2016, a new generation of university students, through the “Fallist” movements, challenged enduring exclusion in higher education, driven not only by race but by financial inequality, and advocated for free higher education for all. Recent research from the HSRC-led South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) included a set of questions on the enduring legacy of social movements in South Africa. The module asked whether the struggle for equitable and inclusive education in South Africa has been achieved, 50 years after 1976.