Researchers asked twelve-year-old students in South Africa, “If there are seven rows of seventeen chairs, how many are there in total?” (Nkosi). Zero out of four hundred students answered correctly (Nkosi). Education is one of the most important things in a sound society, yet in South Africa, the education system is poor.
Due to the lack of proper education, 47% of students within South Africa were unable to complete their degrees last year (Nonjinge). In fact, some studies show that South Africa “has one of the world’s worst education systems” (Pontefract). With this in mind, we must ask ourselves: why is the quality of education in South Africa so far below the rest of the world?
This question dates back to over fifty years ago; in 1953, the Bantu Education Act was passed, which enforced separate schools for black and white students (“Bantu Education Act”). Schools for black students were poorly equipped and funding was short, causing many black people to be improperly educated (“Bantu Education Act”). While this segregation of students into different schools ended in 1996, the issue of inadequate education still stands today and is now caused by a lack of good money management and proper teaching (“Bantu Education Act”).
The first reason why the education system is insufficient is because of the lack of good money management. While South Africa gets aid in the form of philanthropic donations, the donations may actually perpetuate inequality amongst schools. Although $113 million was received by twelve universities in 2016, donations typically go to universities which are doing well, causing the inequality between schools to increase (Paterson). While some schools do well, a majority of them fall behind. Additionally, the government may not be spending enough money on education. The South African Commission believes more spending on education is necessary, demonstrating how not enough money is being put into education right now (Winning). As a result of low budgets, South Africa will have to make trade-offs between enabling more students to attend postsecondary education and improving education (“Reforming Tertiary”). Both of these are important as more students attending postsecondary education would eventually lead to the skill gap in South Africa reducing, while improving education would also lead to more development for the country (“Reforming Tertiary”).
Additionally, schools themselves often do not do a good job of teaching. In South Africa, there are many different native languages, however, schools teach in and exams are often in English, which makes it difficult for some students to comprehend what is being taught and leads to subpar performance in exams (Nkosi). This is one of the factors that led to 213,000 out of 800,000 students failing the end of year test in 2015 (Nkosi). Furthermore, teachers themselves are unmotivated; they often leave for parts of the week (Nkosi). Eventually, this could add up to months or possibly years of missed learning, perpetuating the problem of insufficient education (Nkosi).
Currently, there are plans to improve the education system. Organizations such as UNICAF, a company aiming to bring better education in sub-Saharan Africa, are helping the education problem across Africa through offering technology-based education at a low price, and plans like these could potentially be offered to South Africa as well (“Africa’s Largest Online”). Another potential solution is receiving foreign aid and spreading the money to weaker schools. One such project is funded by the Kresge Foundation, which is based in the United States and aims to bring resources to support sustainability at schools (Paterson). These solutions could potentially help South Africa improve this issue, but for now, the education system still struggles.
Works Cited:
"Africa's Largest Online University Platform Raises $28 Million to Meet Unprecedented Demand for Higher Education." PR Newswire, 14 Nov. 2018. Student Resources In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A562151500/SUIC?u=los42754&sid=SUIC&xid=5f7cd4d6. Accessed 15 Mar. 2019.
“Bantu Education Act.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 16 Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/event/Bantu-Education-Act.
Nkosi, Milton. “Is South Africa's Education System Really 'in Crisis'?” BBC News, BBC, 29 Jan. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35427853.
Nonjinge, Gugu. “Education For Black People In SA Is In A Terrible State.” HuffPost, The Huffington Post, 3 Dec. 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/gugu-nonjinge/the-real-state-of-south-africa-s-education-system_a_23373107/.
Paterson, Mark. “Philanthropy – Making Rich Universities Richer?” University World News, 21 Mar. 2019, www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190315150432474.
“Reforming Tertiary Education in South Africa Could Reduce Inequality of Opportunity, Boost Growth.” World Bank, 22 Jan. 2019, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2019/01/22/reforming-tertiary-education-in-south-africa-could-reduce-inequality-of-opportunity-boost-growth.
Winning, Alexander. “South African Commission Urges More Education Spending before...” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 13 Nov. 2017, www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-politics/south-african-commission-urges-more-education-spending-before-ratings-reviews-idUSKBN1DD13C.
I really like this article. Not because I've read it before, but because it's legitimately well-written. The facts are integrated well into the piece, and the transitions are solid to complement the analysis presented in each paragraph. Nice.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you added in the things that are currently being done to help the education issue at the end, and all of the facts were well integrated and have given me a stronger knowledge about South Africa.
ReplyDeleteThe topic overall and the way you present it makes your article interesting to read. My take away is that South Africa has a sub par education system especially for a country of its wealth. My question is how does it compare to the education systems of other, poorer African countries?
ReplyDeleteYour piece flows incredibly well - it also provides lots of information on your chosen issue. It's interesting to think that despite being much more developed than some other African countries, South Africa still has an education system that doesn't work very well.
ReplyDeleteYou seem very well informed about this topic and this made your article well-written and very factual. I also like how you introduced possible solutions in the conclusion but end by saying that it isn't enough. My question is about your hook - Are the students unable to compute 7*17 or do they not know that this problem requires multiplication?
ReplyDeleteYour article offers a very comprehensive look into the different facets of the issue without spreading itself too thin. I thought the description of how philanthropic donations increase inequality was an interesting perspective.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your hook. It was concise, yet it caught the reader's attention and gave a good introduction into what and where your topic is. I learned that education in Africa needs to be improved, as many students aren't receiving the education needed in order to make a living for themselves. What specifically needs to be changed about the school systems(teachers, facilities, curriculum, etc.)?
ReplyDelete