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The vultures are circling South Africa’s starved education system

The vultures are circling South Africa’s starved education system
Mahfouz Raffee, Stacey Jacobs and Aliya Chikte
By Mahfouz Raffee, Stacey Jacobs and Aliya Chikte
7 Oct 2024
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The recent privatisation proposals by the Western Cape Education Department pose several threats to democracy and the public good. The working class have seen this before, and expect these dangers to proliferate as austerity continues to starve public education.

On Tuesday, 27 August 2024, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) wrote to schools, telling them that more than 2,400 teachers would be cut from the public education system in 2025. Two weeks later, the department briefed the Western Cape parliament’s committee on education about its efforts to attract private partners to invest in the education sector. This pattern of austerity followed by privatisation has been observed in various sectors in many countries, often decimating public goods and making it more difficult for ordinary people to meet basic needs.

As fiscal austerity measures tighten and neoliberal policies gain ground under the ANC/DA-led coalition, we face a troubling convergence of political and economic forces that threaten to fundamentally alter our public education system – turning schools into profit-driven enterprises that exacerbate existing inequalities. 

The proposals put forward by the WCED at the provincial parliamentary briefing pose several threats to democracy and the public good. Working-class communities have already borne witness to the dangers of these privatisation attempts – through experiences with donor-funded schools and “low-fee” private schools. We expect these dangers to proliferate, as austerity continues to starve public education, and vultures circle to feast on the carrion.

A candy shop or a vulture’s feast


The WCED’s presentation was met with a disturbing lack of oversight. The chair of the committee was extremely enthusiastic about the prospect of increased public-private partnerships (PPPs), likening them to children lining up outside a candy shop, struggling to decide which sweet is best when all are tantalising. But this rose-tinted view obscures a far grimmer reality: exclusion and enclosure is the central incentive offered to private or profit-driven entities who may wish to invest in education.

The department’s proposals include:

  • Increasing subsidies to private schools to take on a greater role in the provision of basic education;

  • Adopting public-private partnerships and blended finance models where the government absorbs the risk of private-sector investment. This can include: Concessional land-rights for property developers in high-demand areas; Guaranteed credit arrangements for prospective investors from the financial sector; and rent-to-buy school infrastructure developments; and

  • Expanding the controversial “collaboration school” model.


Many of these proposals have been touted in the World Bank’s Western Cape Education Sector Analysis. Each carries significant risks that threaten to dismantle our public education system and replace it with a patchwork of profit-driven alternatives.

The dangers of privatising education


In the Western Cape the number of private schools tripled between 2009 and 2022. The rapid growth of private schools in South Africa’s education system poses several risks, particularly concerning equity and access. One major concern is the deepening of socioeconomic divides. Private schools charge fees – unaffordable in a country where at least half the population lives in poverty – and syphon off skilled pupils and teachers from the public sector. This could lead to a cycle of decline in public education, eroding the quality of education available to the majority of South African children. While better-resourced private schools can offer higher-quality education, their proliferation risks creating a more fragmented and unequal society where access to quality education is not guaranteed by the state.

The false promise of public-private partnerships


PPPs are agreements between governments and private companies to provide public services or infrastructure. The idea is that private businesses will help fund and manage these projects, while the government oversees them. Because they aim to attract increased investment, PPPs are often seen as a solution for addressing developmental challenges in countries facing fiscal constraints. However, PPPs come with several risks. Because financiers want a return on their investment, PPPs tend to hide debt, shift costs for public goods onto consumers, and reduce quality. The main risk of PPPs is that it ultimately removes enabling access to basic services, turning rights-holding citizens into clientele depending on their ability to pay.

Despite the international evidence illustrating the dangers and warning signs (see parts I and II of History RePPPeated), PPPs are often pushed by key political leaders, the media, and international financial institutions. The absence of rigorous regulation and oversight for PPPs, as seen during the recent provincial parliamentary briefing, risks putting commercial interests ahead of the needs of the public. PPP contracts can also be shrouded in commercial confidentiality, which restricts public scrutiny and accountability.

There is an idea that if the private sector gets involved, efficiency gains will be met. But even the IMF admits that this only happens under very specific conditions – when a significant proportion of the risk is carried by the private sector. When this does not happen, it is often communities who suffer from poor or unaffordable basic services. 

Donor-funded, collaboration schools model


One example of how the involvement of private actors in education has made poor pupils more vulnerable, is the WCED’s introduction of collaboration and donor-funded schools into the provincial education landscape, through the Western Cape Provincial Schools Education Amendment Act (“provincial act”). The WCED sold this model as an innovative solution to mobilise private funding for underperforming schools or schools attended by pupils from poor communities. 

The establishment of a collaboration school involves an agreement between the provincial education MEC, a donor and a nonprofit organisation or “school operating partner”. In donor-funded schools, the parties to the agreement are similar to those of collaboration schools, except that the donor and school operating partner are the same organisation. These donors provide funds to collaboration schools, on condition that their representatives, or school operating partners, are given up to half of the voting rights on the school governing body. 

At its core then, the model erodes democratic school governance as envisioned by the South African Schools Act. It prioritises the voices of private actors and risks diluting the voices, knowledge and experience of those parents, teachers and community members who have a vested interest in the operations of their schools. 

A call to action


The privatisation of education is not inevitable. It is a policy choice – and a dangerous one at that. We must resist these encroachments on our public education system and instead advocate for:

  1. Increased public funding for education through progressive taxation and reprioritised government spending;

  2. Greater public participation in educational policymaking, centring the voices of pupils, parents and teachers who are integral to the school community; and

  3. Support for teachers, including fair pay, increased job opportunities, job security, better working conditions and adequate training and development.


Evidence from around the world, including our own experiment with collaboration schools, shows that privatisation is not the answer to our educational challenges. Instead, we must recommit to the principle of quality public education for all, backed by adequate resources and guided by democratic principles. Only then can we ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential. DM

Mahfouz Raffee and Stacey Jacobs are researchers with Equal Education. Aliya Chikte is a project officer at the Alternative Information and Development Centre.

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