This booklet reviews South Africa's educational system, apartheid, teacher training, finance, and the role of native and national languages. Under apartheid blacks and whites attend separate schools which prepare them for continued segregation in social and economic spheres. There are four educational systems: the blacks (Bantu) are administered by the national Department of Bantu Education, the coloureds (Mulattos) by the Coloured People's Representative Council, Asians by the Department of Asian Affairs, and whites by four provincial administrations. All students seven to 16 years of age must attend school, and all must learn both official languages, English and Afrikaans. Teachers must be of the same race as the system they teach in. The student-teacher ratio of blacks is almost three times that of whites. Most black teachers have only junior certification (10th grade achievement) whereas all white teachers have graduated from high school and almost half have university degrees. Two major problems in teaching are the overabundance of women teachers and the increasing percentage of secondary teachers who teach courses for which they have had no training. Financial support varies dramatically within the educational systems: state spending per capita for whites is almost 18 times the amount spent for blacks. South Africa has 15 universities. Three are black; only one offers courses in both English and Afrikaans. Currently, efforts are being made to encourage teaching in native languages at elementary and secondary levels. (AV)