We cannot fix SA's broken education system without reflecting on the insights from the past

Students in class at the school. (Photo: Mark Potterton)

2 Jan 2025

Going back in time is crucial for predicting the future. We struggle to overcome the legacy of apartheid’s unequal education system, and history continues to shape present-day challenges, from systemic inequities and resource disparity.

A friend, now an emeritus professor, told me last week that the problem with ChatGPT is that it can’t answer life’s real questions. In our attempt to forecast next year, we also asked a few friends to identify the three headline concerns for education in 2025. We also asked ChatGPT. AI was generic: “By 2025, South Africa’s education system is likely to show progress in technology adoption, curriculum innovation, and inclusivity. However, significant disparities in quality and access will remain challenges to overcome. Strong leadership, consistent funding, and community involvement will be critical in driving meaningful change.”

There are elements of truth in the answer and a few of our friends identified the need for strong, visionary leadership to turn our system around, something they said was lacking: “The vision must be clear and there should only be a few high-level areas to work on.” Any business management book will tell you that skilful teams are absolutely central to creating, leading, and maintaining the success of any turnaround effort. Teams are the leader’s hands in accomplishing an articulated vision.

Our gold-standard 2011 National Development Plan offered a long-term perspective. It defined a desired destination and identified the role different sectors of society needed to play in reaching that goal. It built consensus on what the key obstacles to achieving these goals were, and set out what needed to be done to overcome those obstacles.

Thandi

It’s hard to forget Trevor Manuel’s “Thandi” story when he reviewed the National Development Plan seven years later: “Thandi is a young African woman, 18 years old, who passed Grade 12 in 2010. She is part of a group of just under 1,4 million, 5-, 6- and 7-year-olds who started school together in January 1999.

“But so many of those who started with Thandi, the bulk of them, 46% dropped out at high school between grades 8 and 12. Of those who came through the system, about 600,000 sat to write Grade 12 examinations. Out of the 600,000 who wrote matric, only 13% obtain university entrance and 12% get into a college to do a diploma.

“It is a very small group, 25% that started with Thandi in 1999, who have the opportunity to take things further beyond matric. But out of that entire group, somebody like Thandi, who went to a school where virtually everybody is poor and African, and because she is a female, her chances are only 4% of getting into university.”

In Thandi’s case, she couldn’t. Financial challenges, transport fees, lunch money, black tax etc. are some of the reasons that compelled her to remain at home.

With the high youth unemployment in South Africa, Thandi is likely to get odd jobs here and there… this means for all her child-bearing years, Thandi will be trapped in poverty.”

We realise that still today there are millions in Thandi’s situation. Almost everyone we spoke to raised concerns about our poor performance in the recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and spoke of the need to address the challenges in numeracy and literacy. A ministerial expert said: “These results are a mirror for us as a country to take a long hard look at ourselves and come face to face with the cold hard truth that our educational outcomes are deeply uneven.”

In response to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study results, Minister Siviwe Gwarube committed more investment in teacher development, more equitable resource allocation, better use of time, evidence-based teaching methods, and engaging families.

How do Thandi’s problems play out in school today? Picture a hot, dry August day in Limpopo. At the start of the third term, I’m monitoring project implementation and mentoring teachers. The principal, a gentle and kind woman, has analysed the school’s results and discussed the progress of each grade. The Grade 4s are struggling, particularly with their home language. I visit the teacher in the overcrowded school to better understand the problem.

Students in class during a school lesson. (Photo: Mark Potterton)

Bored

The children’s fear is palpable. They are silent, not a single smile on their faces. The male teacher is reading about crocodiles, and the children appear to listen — or pretend to. Most students either seem bored or are not following. The teacher shouts the words and asks: “Where is the crocodile? In which river?” Only one hand goes up. The teacher answers the question before the child can.

Just then, his phone rings, and he walks out of the classroom to answer the call. I realise that the lesson is over and that he isn’t coming back. I talk to the children about their own experiences of rivers. Interest is sparked and a lively discussion ensues, with everyone eager to contribute.

Later, the principal explains that the teacher runs a business and must keep his phone on. It all makes sense. The children are afraid of the teacher, who is doing little teaching. There is little written work in their books, which have not been marked. The children are unmotivated, disinterested, and fearful.

Recently Professor Pam Christie identified what she called the “wicked problems” in our education system: language, resourcing of schools, accountability and responsibility. Christie describes these problems as “complex and intractable”, resisting clear definition, and defying straightforward solutions in our context of conflicting interests.

Christie said the “uncomfortable truth about South African schooling is the great disparity in resources of all sorts between schools”. Post-apartheid funding policies have fallen short of addressing historical disparities. Budget constraints mean that even the government’s norms and standards for school infrastructure cannot be met. Many schools still lack access to necessities such as clean water, proper sanitation, libraries, and laboratories. Unsurprisingly, these under-resourced schools are predominantly located in apartheid-era townships and Bantustans. Christie observed that inequity had become so entrenched that it was often regarded as “just the way things are”. The National Development Plan goal of bringing all schools up to minimum infrastructure standards remained elusive.

A speech therapist we spoke with said there was a need to develop vocabulary and language, and that children need relevant reading materials and opportunities to read every day. A prominent professor put it another way: “We need strong foundational literacy and mathematics, and there is an urgent need to develop a better work ethic and use of the full school day.”

Here’s where teacher unions hold the trump card. Unions, just like in other countries, loom large when it comes to education politics and policy. And depending on how you see things, they’re either essential champions for teachers and children — or the biggest obstacle to school reform.

Making early childhood development a top priority was one of the goals of the National Development Plan to improve the quality of education and the long-term prospects of future generations. This is one area where the government is making progress and beginning to channel more resources toward ensuring that children are well cared for from an early age, and that they receive appropriate emotional, cognitive and physical development stimulation.

‘Wicked problems’

The “wicked problems” overshadow the state of education, and the digital divide almost seems irrelevant. While the government has made some headway in rolling out technology, access to reliable internet and devices remains inconsistent. In poorer areas, teachers and students have very few opportunities to integrate digital tools into the learning process, leaving many behind. Wealthier schools benefit from cutting-edge resources.

Everyone we called agreed that the legacy of inequality remains one of the most pressing issues. The lack of basic infrastructure — functional toilets, reliable electricity, and safe classrooms — is a challenge. In some provinces, for example, students attend lessons under trees because their school buildings are structurally unsafe. Better-equipped urban schools are often overcrowded because of migration from rural areas. Violence in some communities permeates schools, with incidents of gangsterism and assault on the rise. This insecurity undermines learning and teaching.

We do need curriculum reform, and the Bela Act sorted. But the truth is that high levels of poverty mean that many students come to school hungry and find it hard to concentrate on lessons, making functioning feeding schemes a must.

Going back in time is crucial for predicting the future. We struggle to overcome the legacy of apartheid’s unequal education system, and history continues to shape present-day challenges, from systemic inequities and resource disparity. Even with a better understanding of past policies, and identifying patterns of inequality, we cannot avoid repeating mistakes. For example, a better understanding of the impact of underinvestment in rural schools should drive targeted infrastructure development today. In recognising the exclusion of African languages in education, the Department of Basic Education has understood the importance of integrating mother-tongue instruction to improve learning outcomes.

Reflecting on the past equips us with the insights to build an inclusive and equitable education system. But somehow, we still lack the will to act and implement plans.

Dr Mark Potterton is the Director of the Three2Six Refugee Children’s Education Project. Julie Dawjee is a senior school change specialist at the Catholic Institute of Education.

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Thandi

Bored

‘Wicked problems’