Junior Attorney at the Equal Education Law Centre, Pila-Sande Mkuzo stated that the Equal Education report found at least four fundamental issues, which included an excessive focus on academic performance, the limited role played by the Head of Department when it comes to supporting schools, the lack of clear guidance in terms of remedial interventions, and the issue of implementation.
The report looked at underperforming schools in the rural areas, townships, and schools that provide education to poor and middle-class individuals in South Africa.
Mkuzo stated that Equal Education recommended a regulatory reform that facilitates a more holistic approach to school underperformance and moves away from the excessive focus on academic performance. This would take into account the contextual factors that play a part in underperformance at schools, which include teacher quality, teacher retention, learner dropout rates, problems around management, and leadership of the school.
The reports that were reviewed showed a common trend which was the issue of teacher quality and retention. The reports revealed that it wasn’t only provincial education departments that flagged teacher quality and retention as a problem but the schools themselves also noted it as an issue.
Currently, School Governing Bodies (SGBs) hold a very critical role in creating and implementing a school improvement plan, however, this function is being hampered due to the lack of training and capacitation. Therefore, it is important that SGBs receive the proper training and capacitation necessary to ensure that they provide effective oversight at schools.
Equal Education also believes by involving parents in the improvement of schools will help greatly, especially by providing input into how school reports are drafted. Revising the drafting of reports allows them to look at broader aspects such as teacher retention or turnover and how the schools perform compared to others in the district, instead of solely on the learners’ performance.
