Pirls disgrace — Cadre deployment and Sadtu’s control over education must end

The general silence at the shocking state of our education system has, thankfully, been punctuated by the results of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls). The question now is whether the outrage will be followed by action.

The Pirls results make for grim reading. Only 19% of South Africa’s Grade 4 learners can read for meaning (in any of the official languages). South Africa, with a per capita income of $7,055, came last in Pirls, performing much worse than similar middle-income countries which took the same test.

For example, in Egypt, with a $3,699 per capita income, 55% of grade 4s can read for meaning, whereas in Brazil ($7,507), 61% can. This is better than even our Grade 6s, only 44% of whom can read for meaning. 

What are we going to do about it? Let’s start by looking elsewhere for inspiration. When comparable Latin American countries were dealt a similar blow recently, they responded by initiating wide-ranging reforms. We can learn from their experience.

In 2013, Jaime Saavedra was appointed education minister of Peru. Three weeks later, the release of the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results revealed that Peru had been ranked last in tests of Grade 9 students on reading, science and maths. As Saavedra later stated:

“Peru was last of the 65 countries of Pisa. And that was a shock. We could have decided to play the results down to say: Peru has improved since 2009 (which it had); or: We are better than many countries that didn’t even take Pisa, or: Pisa is an OECD examination that is alien to our culture and priorities. But we didn’t go down that route. Instead, we decided to own the problem, to use these results to say: Look, we’re not in trouble. We’re in deep trouble. Then education was on the front page. Education is never on the front page of the newspaper.”

Building on popular outrage, Saavedra instituted a rapid system-wide reform programme. It consisted of teacher and principal entrance exams and promotion evaluations; school bonuses paid based on performance; the use of performance data from nationwide student tests; the introduction of teacher professional development standards; greater responsibilities for principals and administrative staff responsible for hiring processes; and expansion of early childhood education.

Part of the reason these radical reforms could be introduced is because Saavedra took care to explain their importance in a coordinated communications campaign which generated public support for them. By the time Peru tested again in Pisa 2015, these reforms generated rapid gains: a 5% improvement in science and maths; 4% in reading. 

Another instructive example comes from Mexico, which had its own Pisa shock when the country came last in 2009. In response, the media raised education as a major issue.

Investigations revealed that public teachers were routinely absent — 13% never showed up at all. Teachers buying their way into the profession was a common practice; the dominant union (SNTE) would act as a broker for retirees selling their posts to new teachers. All this is eerily familiar to anybody with even a passing knowledge of union dynamics in our own education system.

Public outcry in Mexico intensified after a documentary titled “De Panzazo” (Barely Getting By) was released by a political advocacy organisation. The documentary highlighted union corruption and teacher indifference, putting unions on the back foot against an outraged citizenry.

Following the election of a new president in 2012, reforms were pushed through against the wishes of the union. They were ambitious but unfortunately could not be effectively implemented or sustained in the face of determined union opposition, and the defeat of the pro-reform president in the next election.

No accountability in SA 

Sadtu influence