If you haven’t heard the name “Nelson Mandela”, you might have been living under a rock. Born in the early 1900’s, he was the first in his family to ever receive a formal education. Mandela joined the African National Congress – South Africa’s governing social democratic political party in 1943 as an activist bec0ming a general secretary by 1947 – right before the apartheid took place (History in an Hour, 2012).
Mandela spent 27 years in prison because he refused to compromise with his country’s “white supremacist government” (Boston Globe, 2013) During his imprisonment, he refused to give up on humanity and yet emerged graceful, compassionate and a forgiving individual. One of his famous quotes is “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination, but when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.” To Nelson Mandela, education was everything and he used his education experience extremely well.
On the other hand, South Africa’s current president, Jacob Zuma, has never had formal education. Throughout his political career, he has been charged with corruption numerous times – each time charges were dropped, and charged with rape – although that was eventually ruled consensual. Despite the corruption that runs rampant with the current South African president, the South African population can relate to him because a lot are uneducated (Bio, 2016).
Despite the fact that South Africa spends more gross domestic product on education than any other country, it is still significantly less then more developed countries. Regardless of the increased expenses, performance is poorer than in other countries in the same area. UNICEF reveals that the quality of teaching is poor and occasionally non-existent, teen pregnancy, and school violence are reasons this area lacks in education (UNICEF, 2016). It’s possible with better education systems there could be more Mandela’s and less Zuma’s.
References:
Biography.com (2016). Jacob Zuma – Biography. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/jacob-zuma-262727#synopsis
Boston Globe (06 December 2013). Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013: A rare vision of magnanimity. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-vision-leadership-all-too-rare/cK2QhNxjZSX9tVYEHq7mSJ/story.html
History in an Hour. (18 July 2012). Nelson Mandela – a brief summary. Retrieved from http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/07/18/nelson-mandela-summary/
UNICEF. (2016). Overview: Education and adolescent development. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/southafrica/education_344.html
szk372 says
Greetings,
Education is one of my favorite topics, and Nelson Mandela, such a formidable man, truly exemplifies what the one can do with the power of education. While Mandela accomplished quite a lot as an educated individual, Jacob Zuma accomplished a great deal that was not for the welfare of the people. Zuma was able to take advantage of and appeal to the uneducated majority of the South African population. A leader’s own education is important, but even more important is the education of the general population, for the general population is responsible for making major decisions in many countries (e.g., electing the president in the USA). A leader should strive to foster education because, as Mandela stated, “A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination, but when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”
Thank you for sharing!
Best,
Sean