Revolutionary Schooling? Studying the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College, the African National Congress Liberation School in Tanzania, 1978 to 1992

Author： Morrow Seán Maaba Brown Pulumani Loyiso

Publisher： James Nicholas Publishers

ISSN： 1441-340X

Source： World Studies in Education, Vol.3, Iss.1, 2002-01, pp. : 23-37

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Abstract

This paper discusses the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College, SOMAFCO, the African National Congress liberation school in Tanzania between 1978 and 1992. The authors reflect on the process of writing about recent and possibly controversial episodes in the history of South, and Southern, Africa. They also outline a number of areas that they argue reveal points of tension within the ANC’s educational enterprise. Hinging on the question of what a ‘political’ or ‘revolutionary’ school might be, they probe areas such as gender, ‘education with production’, ethnicity and nationality in the exile context, and the curriculum. They conclude that while it is difficult to draw direct lessons for contemporary South Africa from the educational experience at SOMAFCO, there are many intriguing resonances that should be explored.