The SA Education System

Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO

I am busy reading Moeletsi Mbeki’s book: “Advocates for Change: How to Overcome Africa’s Challenges”, and it makes for fascinating reading.

Mbeki both edited the book and wrote the introduction. Each chapter has been written by experts on relevant topics, and it's no surprise that the chapter on education is written by Prof. Jonathan Jansen.

He makes the point that government spends a massive portion of its budget on education, some 20%, amounting to ZAR165 billion in 2010/2011, which is proportionately significantly higher than any other African country. So there is no shortage of resources allocated, but what do we have to show for this?

Evidence shows that the South African education system is one of the least productive in the Southern African region. The following productivity indicators show the weaknesses: enrolments drop from nearly 100% in children under 15 to 78% for 18-year olds;  20% of 18-year olds are not in school and do not complete grade 12; a third of all learners repeat at least one grade, with more than half of these students repeating  one or more years in grades 10-12, and almost 20% of learners in senior high school are above the age-grade norm for their grade.  These indicators show the inefficiencies in the system, but the picture is even sadder when one considers the performance outcomes.

The first point that Prof Jansen makes in this regard is that the Senior Certificate results represent  “an internal, non-comparative (with other countries) account of the state of the school system measured against one indicator, the national grade 12 results”. The results are adjusted annually, but because it is a closed and self-referential system, it isn’t made clear to what extent the results are adjusted.

From my own recent experience, I can say with confidence that standards have definitely dropped. I was invited to hand out prizes at a Model C school prize giving, and I was very honoured to have been invited.

Now, I remember that when I was at school, one, or possibly two, children per grade achieved colours for academics. There were a few merit certificates handed out, but getting colours was a real achievement. At this particular prize giving, reams and reams of names were called out, and "achievers" came forward to receive their colours certificates.

I certainly don't want to take anything away from these young people, because they have obviously worked hard, but it is absolutely impossible that so many young people have got that much brighter since I attended government school. It is quite obvious that the better managed model C schools will show these kinds of results, if the results are being “adjusted” to move children out of the school system. But what does it mean for the young people being "passed" at the lower end of the scale? How employable are they?

This is even more frightening when one considers that 173 030 matriculants failed in 2010, and less than a quarter qualify for university admission. Prof Jansen goes on to make the point that every national and regional test of comparison on basic competencies in literacy and numeracy consistently places South Africa at the lower end of the performance scales. 

We are in serious trouble here, and it is about time that our leadership did more than just throw money at the problem. It is time for some accountability, because the young people coming through our school system are the future leaders of our country, and they will ultimately be responsible for our economic performance going forward. If our education levels do not measure up to world standards, then we cannot hope to compete favourably.

Perhaps it is time for our leaders to learn what works elsewhere in the world?

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