A clash between secular and religious conscience could unfold in South Africa’s education system — and different interest groups are set to line up against one another.
The teaching of evolution to grade 12 learners from next year might trigger an uproar among South African parents, teachers and religious sectors.
Evolution, which will be offered as part of life sciences under the new grade 10 to 12 curriculum by public and private schools, is rated highly by education experts because they believe it teaches learners to think critically and analytically.
Its proposed teaching is bound to rattle established norms and beliefs because evolution theory, and its growing body of followers, invariably generates tension between secular, atheist scientists and conservative religions.
In the United States a group of Christian parents instituted legal action in 2005 to challenge the implementation of teaching evolution at schools because they felt it undermined their notion of God.
Josef de Beer, a lecturer in the faculty of education at the University of Johannesburg, said teachers of evolution might have religious concerns. ‘My experience in teaching evolution in a foundation-year programme at the University of Pretoria is that many students find evolution problematic because of their religious beliefs.â€
At a recent conference on teacher training, a teacher said: ‘I am disappointed about the fact that evolution attacks God’s creation. It also mixes Genesis with idol worshippers of Babylon, which were never there when God created planet Earth.â€
Another said he thought the topic should be voluntary because he didn’t think it suitable for people who believe in God. ‘I am totally against evolution,†another teacher said.
Matters came to a head after snippets of a video, Tiny Humans: Finding Hobbits in Flores, was shown. The video traces the origin of tiny prehistoric humans somewhere on an Indonesian island. They are depicted as short and dark-skinned people. This offended some black teachers. They said that evolution was a racist theory. It ‘terribly undermines black people, everything bad gets a black colour. It means blacks were apes,†they said.
De Beer said there were genuine concerns about teachers’ preparedness. ‘I do not think that all teachers are ready for the challenge to teach evolution in grade 12 life sciences next year. There is an urgent need to train teachers to deal with this complex issue in the classroom.â€
De Beer and Hugo van Rooyen designed a short course aimed at preparing and empowering teachers on how best to handle evolution in a classroom situation without inflaming religious passions. But Penny Vinjevold, deputy director general for further education and training, said the education department had offered a number of workshops and produced a guide for teachers and parents.
The department had been ‘sensitive to the views of a wide range of persons and attempts at all times to demonstrate this sensitivity†in introducing evolution.
Teachers of evolution will need to be well trained.
No child would be compelled to ‘adopt†or ‘defend the viewpoint or any way subscribe to evolutionâ€. So there could be no reason for parents to take legal action, Vinjevold said.
The department took into account the fact that different theories offered a variety of explanations on the origin of human beings. Evolution was one of such explanations and learners were not expected to believe it, but to see it as one school of thought, she said.