School children at Imperial Primary School in Eastridge, Mitchell's Plain (Cape Town, South Africa). Picture taken by Henry Trotter, 2006.

In February 2012, a major newspaper in Asia, The Bangkok Post, reported about how the education system in South Africa had practically collapsed: this has happened despite fiscal planners allocating 20% of its total budget towards education. The report showed that the budget is apparently being covertly siphoned to other expenses or persons. The Post even reported about an alleged R200 million that was supposed to be used for books and school equipment that never materialized. The money was granted but no new books or equipment were seen when school started. What is happening? Is there any truth to these allegations and what exactly is the status of the education system in South Africa?

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights of South Africa stresses that every citizen of the country is entitled to free basic education which includes basic adult training. The government is obliged to pay for this and make it easy for South Africans to have access to the free public education.

In line with this right, South Africa allots 20% of its total budget to education which is remarkably one of the highest in the world.

The Educational System

South Africans have three educational phases through which they can pass: these phases are known as the Three Bands, and are outlined as follows:

1. General Education and Training
2. Further Education and Training
3. Higher Education and Training

The time spent in school is 13 years or 13 grades starting with Grade 0 up to Grade 12. All South Africans are required to study from Grade 1 to 9 – no exceptions since it’s free. The passing grade used to be 40%, but over the years this has increased as more students are able to pass with general ease. The ratio of student to teacher in public schools is upwards of 31:1. For those who own centurion property (or for that matter all upper-middle class income earners) the picture is a lot better: in private schools there are 17 students to every teacher.

The law and policies on education for private and public schools include the following:

• All 9 South African provinces have administrative autonomy with their own education department but are funded by the national central government. One of the reasons for this is the number of local languages in South Africa which means there is no general one-language system in the country
• There are 3 branches at the national level for education based on the 3 Bands
• All children must be accepted into the public education system regardless of race, colour, or religion
• There are 2 kinds of national assistance for education: free schooling (100% free education for children whose parents simply cannot pay fees) and the National Schools Nutrition Programme (a feeding program for school children from grades 1 to 12 for selected schools).

The main problem aside from the corruption within the educational system is the backlog from the period of Apartheid. During those dark times, black children did not get the same quality of schooling as the white children. This resulted in more than 40 years of poor literacy from the 1953 Bantu Education Act among black South Africans and lack of vocational training to get good jobs.

The Bantu Education Act simply stated that black South Africans do not need to go the full length of the education system since they mostly work as labourers and can receive training in the workplace.

Role of Private Groups in South Africa Education System

The problem that faces many South African learners is the lack of funding and access to appropriate facilities: learners cannot afford to buy books, equipment is old and unkempt, and teachers are often absent from lessons. Right now, there are many private groups, for example Khanya, that have contributed to the education system by providing computers or access to computers for students in state schools. With the help of private organizations, the literacy rate 2 years ago shot up to 88% which is more than double the literacy rate right after the Apartheid era.