TRANSFORMING

EDUCATION

AgangSAs Plan to Transform and
Restructure the Education System
in South Africa

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2
2. The Current State of Education in South Africa....................................................... 3
3. AgangSAs Education Policy Approach ..................................................................... 9
3.1 Principles to govern the education sector in South Africa ................................. 9
3.2 AgangSAs approach to education in South Africa ............................................. 9
4. AgangSAs Plans to Transform the Education System in South Africa ............... 14
Sources .............................................................................................................................. 18




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1. Introduction

Nearly two decades after the end of apartheid, the South African education system
is in crisis. This is clearly evident in the countrys unsatisfactory educational
outcomes. In standardised international assessments of educational achievement,
South Africa is consistently ranked worst among all participating middle income
countries. South African learners tend to fare particularly poorly in standardised
assessments of literacy and mathematical ability, even in comparison to their peers
in many low-income African countries. Alarmingly, large shares of South African
learners are functionally illiterate and innumerate.

These unacceptable educational outcomes are due in a large part to the poor quality
of the existing education system in South Africa. Education in the country continues
to be undermined by a corrosive mix oflow expectations of children (especially those
living in rural areas or townships); endlessly layered bureaucracy that blurs lines of
accountability; and eroded legitimate authority that renders leaders powerless.

Moreover, the current schooling system is beset with problems. These include a one
school system that is assumed best for all; wide divergence in access to quality
education across the country; heavily teacher-centred classroom practices; the
presence of teachers who are disillusioned and frustrated; poor perceptions of
teaching as a last resort low-status occupation; and limited access to computer
technology and restricted bandwidth in many schools.

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2. The Current State of Education in South Africa

A defining feature of the apartheid era education system in South Africa was the
institutionalisation of vast inequalities in educational provision, resourcing, access
and quality. Under apartheid, black South Africans were systematically denied access
to the educational opportunities enjoyed by their white counterparts. The Bantu
education system, which sought to educate the black majority, was designed to teach
individuals about apartheid and their role under white minority rule, while providing
only basic skills. This resulted in generations of under-skilled, under-qualified and
unemployed individuals.

In contrast, education for white South Africans was aimed at growing the countrys
skilled labour force and channeling white students into universities in order to ready
them for highly skilled positions in both the private and public sectors. There were
also vast disparities in the quality of education available in South Africas rural and
urban areas, with proper infrastructure largely non-existent in the rural parts of the
country.

As a result of years of underinvestment in black education under apartheid, urgent
reforms were required after 1994 to redress the widespread inequalities and unequal
outcomes that dogged the system and to remove infrastructural backlogs in the
education sector. Recognising the dire need for reform, successive post-apartheid
governments in South Africa have ramped up expenditure on education and initiated
a raft of programmes designed to improve the countrys education system. At
present, one fifth (20%) of total government expenditure is directed towards
education in South Africa. This year, education was allocated the largest share of the
national budget, with R232.5 billion earmarked from the central fiscus for education,
sports and culture.

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At the same time, important policy and legislative changes have been implemented
with the aim of addressing the inequalities in the system stemming from apartheid.
At the macro level, the focus has been on reversing fiscal inequities within the
system, implementing serious curriculum reform and restructuring teacher
deployment. The latter has been introduced in tandem with moves to synchronise
teacher salaries and stabilise teacher to pupil ratios in order to raise teacher
performance and the quality of teaching in South Africa.

Following the end of apartheid, the national government also sought to reform the
education system by addressing issues at the local level. In this respect, reforms
included the creation of a foundation class before the start of primary school (Grade
R), changes to language policies, and initiatives to localise power in order to give
School Governing Bodies more authority over their schools admission policies and
codes of conduct. In addition, some schools were turned into no-fee schools where
learners were able to receive an education free of charge with learning materials
provided to them by the school.

Despite these reforms, and the laudable progress in terms of improving access to
education in South Africa that has been achieved since 1994 (particularly at the level
of primary and basic education but also in secondary and higher education), many
problematic features of the education system have endured almost two decades after
the end of apartheid.

South Africas public education system ranks among the worst in the world. A 2011-
2012 World Economic Forum (WEF) study rated the South African education
system a lowly 133
rd
out of 142 participating countries. The WEFs Global
Information Technology report (released in 2013) ranked the quality of the South
African education system in 140
th
position out of 144 countries. South Africas maths
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and science education fares even more poorly, coming in second-last in the world
ahead of only Yemen.

At the same time, the reforms to education introduced since 1994 have been unable
to effectively redress the inequalities that were a feature of the South African
education system under apartheid. Indeed, it has been argued that the current system
actually propagates inequality. The social mobility of individuals hailing from poor
families is severely constrained, not least because high quality education which has
a major influence on social mobility remains geographically and financially
inaccessible to many poor people in South Africa. As a result, there remains an
enormous achievement gap between children in advantaged versus disadvantaged
schools.

The inequalities in education in South Africa are evident in the presence of a two-
tier school system which includes both a dysfunctional schooling system (which
encompasses 75% of all schools in the country; and ranks poorly even in comparison
to other African countries)
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and a functional schooling system (which accounts for
the remaining 25% of schools; and is equivalent to schooling systems at the lower
end of those found in developed countries). For their part, the dysfunctional schools
are characterised by weak accountability; incompetent school management; a lack of
a culture of learning, discipline and order; inadequate learner-teacher support
material; weak teacher content knowledge; high levels of teacher absenteeism; slow
curriculum coverage; repetition and high dropout rates; and extremely weak learning.
The differences in the performance of schools within these two tiers are stark and
manifest in a clear bi-modality in student performance across the two tiers.

Many school-going Grade 6 learners in South Africa are functionally illiterate and
innumerate. As a result, South African learners tend to perform extremely poorly in

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South Africas own Minister of Basic Education has claimed that as many as 80% of schools in South Africa are
dysfunctional.
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standardised measures of literacy and numeracy, even in comparison to other
African countries. In a 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
(PIRLS), which tested levels of reading and literacy among Grade 4 and 5 learners,
South Africa ranked last out of 45 countries (behind both Botswana and Morocco).
Just 13% of Grade 4 and 22% of Grade 5 learners in South Africa reached the Low
International Benchmark of 400 in the PIRLS in 2006. Likewise, a 2007 study by the
Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality
(SACMEQ), which assessed proficiency in mathematics and reading among Grade
6 learners in 14 African countries, ranked South Africa in 10
th
position for reading
and 8
th
for mathematics, behind low-income countries such as Swaziland, Tanzania
and Kenya. South Africa has also performed poorly in comparison to its neighbours
in Trends in Mathematics and Science Studies, which assesses the abilities of Grade
8 learners in maths and science.

The poor performance of South African learners in comparison to their African
peers occurs even though the national governments expenditure on primary
education significantly exceeds that of other African governments. For instance, the
South African government spends nearly five times more than Kenya per child on
primary education (US$ 1 225 in South Africa versus US$ 258 in Kenya), yet only
8% and 11% of Grade 6 learners in Kenya are functionally illiterate and innumerate,
respectively, versus 25% and 39% in South Africa.

A significant amount of South Africas expenditure on education is wasted through
the ineffective use of resources. The 2007 SACMEQ study revealed that just 36%
of South African Grade 6 learners had their own mathematics textbook, well below
the equivalent shares in Mozambique (52%) and Botswana (62%). There is wide
variation across provinces and schools in the capacity to manage financial and
human resources. In certain instances this has manifested in particularly undesirable
outcomes, such as the non-delivery of textbooks to schools in Limpopo in 2012. Six
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months into the 2012 academic year, schools in Limpopo had not yet received
textbooks for Grade 10 learners from the Department of Education. Unsurprisingly,
70% of Grade 10 learners in 25 Limpopo schools failed their Grade 10 exams.

The high level of government expenditure on education has also not translated into
an equitable distribution of resources across schools in South Africa, with many
schools remaining heavily under-resourced. There are still 400 mud schools in the
Eastern Cape. Across the county, many schools lack basic infrastructure such as
electricity and flushing toilets. Of the 24 735 public schools in South Africa, 11 450
schools are using pit latrines and 19 541 schools do not even have space for a library.

In addition, violence within schools continues to be a major problem that has
significant negative repercussions for education outcomes in the country. Many
primary and secondary schools within South Africa have become sites of widespread
violence. The problem of school-based violence has persisted and, in some cases,
has intensified. Most worryingly, there has been a shift from bullying to even more
serious types of violent victimisation in our schools. In many cases, children are the
perpetrators of this violence and there have been a growing number of instances in
which teachers have been the victims. As a result, in many schools across the country
(encompassing all school categories), children are unable to learn in a safe and
protected environment.

Aside from the issues related to resources and safety in schools, the poor educational
outcomes in South Africa are also a function, at least in part, of poor teacher quality
and teacher shortages. With respect to the latter, student teacher ratios have
increased steadily on average in recent years; and teacher shortages are
particularly dire in maths and science. The situation is made worse by the fact that
South Africa is losing over 4 000 teachers each year through emigration. In addition,
the teacher shortages are exacerbated by high levels of teacher absenteeism. At
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present, cumulative teacher absenteeism in public schools amounts to one month
per annum, which only serves to further compromise learning. Perhaps most
worryingly, teacher absenteeism is most widespread in the four poorest quintiles of
the education system.

At the same time, the poor quality of the education system, and the low throughput
and high dropout rates along the various levels of the system, are major contributors
to South Africas severe skills shortages. South Africa currently faces major skills
shortages in the fields of science, technology, engineering, maths and accounting.
These skills shortages have a significant impact in stifling much needed economic
growth in the country.



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3. AgangSAs Education Policy Approach

3.1 Principles to govern the education sector in South Africa

AgangSAs vision of a high quality and well-functioning education system in South
Africa is grounded in the following principles:
Equity of access to quality education for all South Africans, regardless of their
race, where they live and their socio-economic circumstances.
Shared responsibility for education between the state, schools, teachers,
learners, families and communities.
A devotion to high quality teaching and school leadership in all schools in
South Africa.
Schools, school leaders and teachers who are professionally accountable to
their learners and their families.
Collaboration across all tiers of the education system.
Schools that offer safe and protected learning environments for children in
South Africa.

3.2AgangSAs approach to education in South Africa

We believe that education policies must be designed to transform not merely
reform and improve the existing education system in South Africa. Effective
transformation of the education system requires a focus on transforming leaders.
Moreover, there is a need for a dramatic change in focus towards improving the
quality of teaching and learning in the country. This requires a combined focus on
children, teachers, school leadership and restructuring educational systems and
structures. More broadly, it necessitates an action-based and multi-faceted approach
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to transforming the education system. Each of these elements is discussed briefly
below.

3.2.1 Focus on children

We will establish high expectations for all learners; and entrench a cradle to career
focus that is centred on creating and developing personalised learning paths and
integrating and aligning all elements of the education system to serve the needs of
our children.

3.2.2 Focus on teachers

We will encourage a relentless focus on the processes of teaching and learning in
classrooms. Doing so requires re-igniting belief, passion and commitment in
teachers by focusing on teachers personal development. It also requires the creation
of new paths for ambitious young people to be attracted into education and retained
in the profession.

3.2.3 Focus on school leadership

We believe there is an urgent need to simplify systems of accountability in order to
reduce the burdens of paperwork and increase the time spent by teachers in direct
teaching contact with learners. At the same time, we will look to introduce greater
autonomy and increased accountability within a clearly defined transformative
teaching and learning framework for school leaders and teachers.


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3.2.4 Restructuring systems and structures

In contrast to the existing one school system in South Africa, we believe that it is
necessary to develop a number of parallel systems of schooling that cater for diverse
needs and opportunities and ensure that a variety of schooling options are available
to enable children to move from cradle to career. This approach will also involve a
restructuring of existing schools in order to create smaller focused schools within
schools that will create and develop quality opportunities for all children.

3.2.5 An action-based approach to transforming the education system

We believe that the implementation of multiple parallel action-based strategies is
necessary to transform the education system in South Africa. At a practical level, this
approach will focus on the following:

Lengthening school days to broaden and deepen learning.

Restructuring school time and space carefully to begin to address the real
existing academic deficits.

Cascading peer training for all teachers and professional development relating
to targeted academic intervention in all schools specifically for mathematics
and languages.

Restructuring Life Orientation as a subject to develop: mindfulness; greater
focus on internalising values; peer helping; circles of healing; and children
as agents of change in community development. In doing so, we will aim to
consciously build actively engaged citizens and, thereby, develop the social
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capital needed for continued economic and social growth and development
in South Africa.

Creating and developing educational communities of practice district-by-
district to enable the peer review process to become a reflective tool and
enabler for real school change.

Developing the capacity of school leaders and governors to create, take
ownership of, and implement focused school improvement plans.

Distinguishing between instructional and operational leadership roles and
responsibilities within schools.

Focusing on educational leadership development in all districts with a specific
priority focus on instructional leadership.

Creating and accelerating business mentoring and coaching to support
operational leaders.

Focusing relentlessly on what is happening in the classroom and prioritising
instructional practice.

Focusing on learner-centred teaching by defining clear expectations for lesson
structures, tools and techniques and establishing peer classroom observation
and feedback as a primary self-regulating mechanism.

Developing teachers to ensure appropriate differentiation in teaching and
learning that takes into account learning styles, multiple intelligences, abilities
and difficulties.
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Structuring and implementing an effective performance management system
for schools that cares for teachers, and triggers and enables teaching and
leadership growth and development.

Prioritising the implementation of strategies to integrate computer technology
and access to the Internet for all schools.




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4. AgangSAs Plans to Transform the Education System in
South Africa

There is a need to implement wide-ranging initiatives to transform, reform and
improve the education system in South Africa. To this end, AgangSA plans to
undertake the following:

AIM HIGH: We will aim to be a top 10 education system globally and make
decisions accordingly. Incremental change will no longer be accepted.

PUT STUDENTS FIRST: By improving the quality and competency of
teachers in South Africa. To this end, we will:
o Conduct subject-specific competency tests of all teachers.
o Provide intensive teacher training.
o Link teachers pay increases to competency/qualifications.
o Introduce minimum standards for new teacher hires with an eventual
goal of all teachers having bachelor degrees.
o Encourage and stimulate the growth of Teach South Africa working
with Teach For All.
o Provide incentivised fast-tracked leadership training.

FILL TEACHER VACANCIES: We will hire 15000 more teachers with a
focus on unemployed youth with bachelor degrees; provide allowances for
working in rural areas and scarce skills (e.g. maths); and develop teacher
internship training opportunities for school graduates in high-performing
schools.


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UPGRADE INFRASTRUCTURE: We will eradicate mud schools, fix
basic infrastructure and build libraries to provide our youth with proper
learning environments.

SET MINIMUM STANDARDS: We will define minimum standards for
all elements of the education system so parents know what they should expect
from government and can hold it accountable.

ELIMINATE MEDIOCRITY: We will abandon the 30% pass mark in all
grades andintroduce a 50% minimum pass mark for all subjects and grades.

TOP-UP SOCIAL GRANTS FOR EDUCATION RESULTS: We will
provide additional social grant money to families for students who achieve a
70% pass in any year and for matriculation.

FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP TO ACCELERATE EDUCATIONAL
TRANSFORMATION:We will establish applied national and regional
leadership institutes in education; and identify, train, support and fast track
instructional leader champions in all schools, district-by-district.

ESTABLISH NEW SCHOOL SYSTEMS: We will introduce new legal
options for new school systems to be initiated, supported and monitored. For
example, we will create provision for contract schools targeting access to
quality education to be funded as public schools.

REVIVE DINALEDI SCHOOLS: We will inject funding and human
resources into Dinaledi Schools within a differentiated framework. These
schools will be categorised in terms of history and performance and, for each
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of these categories, school development plans will be developed and
supported with incentivised goals and intentional monitoring.

ELIMINATE VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS: We will ensure that all
schools in South Africa are safe and protected environments for learning. To
do so, we will adoptan explicitly transversal and strategically coordinated
whole-of-government and whole-of-society focus on schools (encompassing
national and provincial departments of Education, Community Safety,
Culture and Sport, Social Development and Health as well as NGOs and
CBOs) in building safe communities. We will also restore respect and
connectedness between schools and communities; and emphasise the
importance of relationships, attitudes and mentalities in maintaining school
safety.

BOOST THE CAPACITY AND EXPERTISE OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION (DBE) AND
PROVINCIAL BUREAUCRACIES:We will build greater technical and
educational expertise and managerial and administrative capacity within the
national DBE and provincial education departments. Key to this will be
ensuring that the national DBE and provincial departments are staffed by
personnel with the appropriate expertise and technical competence to
perform their duties.

IMPROVE ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL LEVELS OF THE
EDUCATION SYSTEM: We will instil a strong chain of accountability
within the South African education system, with verifiable and trackable goals
and responsibilities linked to clearly defined performance criteria for
individualsat each level of the system. This will be accompanied by clearly
defined consequences for instances of non-performance; and reinforced
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through on-going monitoring and evaluation throughout the system. We will
focus, in particular, on articulating responsibilities for pupil learning and
consequences for non-performance and poor educational outcomes.

AIM FOR UNIVERSAL ATTAINMENT OF BASIC SKILLS: We will
set realistic goals based on assessments of capacity and recent rates of
progress that build towards the target of achieving universal acquisition of
basic skills without compromising educational standards.






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