Since 1994 there has been some progress. There is no basis to the notion that education is worse than under apartheid, notes Mr Spaull. Piecing together evidence from various test data, he reckons children today are roughly two years ahead of where they would have been before 1994. Yet in recent years progress is “stalling”, he says. South Africa ranks bottom or near-bottom when countries are ranked by their pupils’ scores in comparable international tests. Nearly 80% of children in grade four (9- or 10-year-olds) cannot read and understand sentences in any language; 61% of pupils a year older cannot add or subtract whole numbers.
Small wonder then that, of the 100 pupils who begin a school year, just 50-60 can be expected to take the end-of-school "matriculation" exam, with 40-50 passing, and only six going on to complete university. All of this has a big impact on a labour market that offers a premium for skilled labour. The jobless rate for people with a high-school certificate (28%) is more than quadruple that for university graduates.
The quality of teaching is a major obstacle to better education. Nearly four in five maths teachers cannot do the sums expected of their 12- or 13-year-old pupils. Many of these teachers were themselves educated under apartheid. Nevertheless the lack of accountability for poor performance has been the responsibility of ANC governments. It is all but impossible to fire a teacher in South Africa. Even when school leaders are suspected of sexual harassment of pupils they are more likely to be moved to a different school than prosecuted.
The problems of South African schools are not for a lack of money. Public spending on education is more than 6% of GDP, a higher share than the average in the OECD club of mostly rich countries. Spending is also higher than in other African countries with better results, such as Kenya. The tolerance of failure, as well as the relatively lavish spending on salaries, is largely a result of the power of teaching unions. The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is one of the largest unions in the Congress of South African Trade Unions, the federation that forms part of the “tripartite alliance” with the ANC, along with the South African Communist Party. SADTU’s political influence means it can get away with stunning levels of mediocrity and corruption.
Its shamefulness was outlined in a report for the government in 2016. Written by John Volmink, it documented widespread fraud and corruption in the school system, such as the sale of jobs for cash or cows. It also found that SADTU was in “de facto control” of the education departments in six of the nine provinces in the country, concluding that “it is not improbable to say that schooling throughout South Africa is run by SADTU”.
Those who can afford to extricate their children from this mess are doing so. Low-cost private schools are increasingly popular. Parents are showing similar preferences for the private over the public as they do in other sectors. In 1997 the number of private security guards and policemen was the same. Today there are three times more private guards than police. No one who can afford private health care relies on the public system.
Yet, given the state of the South African economy, there is a limit to the number of people who can afford to go private. The future of the poorest pupils depends on government policy. Mr Ramaphosa has made some promising suggestions, for example saying that he will embrace an intensive evidence-based reading programme championed by Mr Spaull. That would be a great start. But ultimately a better education system requires the president to take on the unions. Only then will teachers spend more time teaching children than looking out for their own interests.
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Goddamn niggers are fucking pathetic. Wjhen will they learn?
[–] 18981359? 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Goddamn niggers are fucking pathetic. Wjhen will they learn?
I just don't think they are capable of it. They have the same big issues of most other African countries. Rampant government corruption. And only the rich can afford to have a decent lifestyle. Naturally, they still 100% blame Apartheid for all their problems.
Rampant government corruption. And only the rich can afford to have a decent lifestyle.
It's a big hypocritical for me to say too much about this part. The US is quickly heading in this direction too. At this rate, it may only be a few more generations before the rest of the world regards the US as a 3rd world nation as well.
[–] 18981336? ago
How is that even possible?
[–] 18986673? ago
Da wyte man be takin all da knowledge for himself. dat why he seem so smart. he take the knowledge of 2, 3, 4, maybe a million people. kyll white man eat brain and reclaim the education.
[–] 19012186? ago
We stold dey ritn n neva geyv it back yo
[–] 18981357? ago
It's a poor way of describing that they are still completely illiterate.
[–] 18981338? ago
It’s saying they can’t read and understand any language. Not speak.
[–] 18986651? ago
Now ask any anthropologist 101 professor how many nigger tribes have ever developed written language in all of non-nigger's recorded history.
[–] 18981337? ago
Ask a nigger.
[–] 18988644? ago
You must be new here.