From Education Crisis to Organisation unlocks the story of how learning became a movement in South Africa – and changed lives beyond the classroom.
It situates the history of the National Education Crisis/Coordinating Committee (NECC) among broader histories of resistance to apartheid. The NECC was an intergenerational social movement that united South African students, parents and teachers in schools and universities between 1985 and 1995. Young people played a major role in the NECC, advancing a future-oriented democratic agenda which shaped today’s education policy.
This deeply researched book, the first to focus on the NECC, draws from a large body of archival documentation and includes interviews with key actors to highlight the debates and conflicts that came to the fore during a decade of engagement. From Education Crisis to Organisation is an essential contribution to the history of education in SA.
It considers the politics of knowledge production, the transnational dimensions of the NECC’s funding networks and ideas and contemporary expressions of ‘People’s Education’. A must-read for anyone interested in charting a better course for South Africa’s youth today and understanding school and university protests everywhere.
'From Education Crisis to Organisation: Reflections on the NECC (1985 – 1995)' is published by Jacana Media