Blog 13: South Africa: Short-Changing the Youth - the Collapse of an Education System?

Blog 13: South Africa: Short-Changing the Youth - the Collapse of an Education System?

This article was more of an analysis of the current state of education in South Africa. It begins with the statement of how literacy improvement is good for the economy. An expert on education also states that 17.2% of the economic growth rate in Africa is due to improvements in education. The belief is that it will take more than just extra funding for education to continue to improve. The enrollment numbers are high but the problem lies in students staying in school. One of the probable causes of this problem is that the present education system keeps the poor and the privileged in their respective statuses instead of raising the poor out of poverty. Another problem is teacher absenteeism.  There are more difficulties facing South African students such as not enough classrooms and libraries available. There are even some schools without water. To add to these issues, there is a lack of qualified teachers and principals. One proposed solution being discussed is to add more textbooks and other learning materials.

The current educational problems facing South Africa continue to be in the news. The reports of higher enrollment in primary schools are certainly positive and give promise for the future of their education and economy. It appears that the real problem that needs to be addressed is the high school dropout rate of 45%. Somehow, I don’t think that adding more textbooks will touch this problem.  It must become an imperative to give more attention to the poorer schools. They could start with adding qualified teachers and investing more in providing each student with the proper learning tools. Perhaps money is not the answer to everything, but in this case the 20% of the South African annual budget money going to education is obviously just not enough. The leaders should be able to see that the improvements so far in literacy and in turn the economy, is proof positive that more investment, including funding, in the schools will pay off for everyone.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201204181041.html                   Deborah Faircloth