South Africa’s education system is not facing a silent crisis. This is a message from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) after a series of reports was released detailing several challenges facing the country’s schools
Reports released by an advocacy group, the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) argue that corruption, a lack of accountability and the current standards of teachers are negatively impacting the performance of South African learners in international assessments. The group also called for new leadership in the DBE.
DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the tone of the reports from the CDE is problematic as it implies that the education department is doing nothing to address current challenges in schools.
The tone of the report itself sounds like it was written by an opposition political party as opposed to an organisation that is doing research
Mhlanga argues that the information and statistics referenced in the reports may be outdated. They added that some of these challenges may have been addressed by the department, as time passed from when the reports were released.
In the CDE’s report, they state that South Africa’s education system is one of the worst performing in the world. They said that was concerning as some of the countries that outperform South Africa spend less on education.
We languish at the bottom of most international education tables – behind developing countries like Morocco, Egypt and Albania that spend far less per capita on education than we do.
While there are challenges in the sector, Mhlanga says this is not the case and that South Africa’s education system is the worst in the world. They add that several countries referenced in the report routinely visit South Africa to learn from the education department.
Maybe they should just go back to those countries and then ask them how they found the system to be working in this country and why they are spending so much money coming here to spend days with us to learn how the system is working
The CDE also states that many teachers employed in South African schools lack the knowledge and skills to impact learning. They say that 80% of teachers in public schools lack the content knowledge and pedagogical skills to teach their subjects.
Mhlanga says that the responsibility of equipping teachers with the skills needed to be effective in the classroom falls on the universities and institutions where individuals study.
However, the education department regularly facilitates workshops to ensure that teachers are kept up to date with the best practices to achieve successful educational outcomes.
