Education for all

According to the latest edition of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (2008) by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), there is some good and some bad news. The good news is that the number of children starting primary school has increased sharply since 2000, there are more girls in school than ever before and spending on education and aid has risen. On the down side, however, poor quality, the high cost of schooling and persisting high levels of adult illiteracy are undermining the chances of achieving education for all by 2015. Some of the main findings of the report are:

  • Participation in primary education is increasing but is still far from universal. Worldwide 688m children were enrolled in primary schools in 2005, up from 647m in 1999 – an increase of 6.4%. In sub- Saharan Africa primary school enrolment increased by 36% (or 29m) between 1999 and 2005, while in South and West Asia it increased by 22% (or 35m).
  • Governments in 14 countries abolished primary school tuition fees, a measure that has favoured access for the most disadvantaged. Worldwide, the number of out-of-school children dropped significantly by 24m, from 96m in 1999 to 72m in 2005.
  • Countries where primary school enrolments rose sharply, in general, increased their education spending as a share of GNP. Public expenditure on education increased by over 5% annually in sub- Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, the two regions farthest away from achieving the Education for All (EFA) goals.
  • Between 1999 and 2005, 17 additional countries achieved gender parity in primary education, with equal numbers of boys and girls attending school; 19 countries reached parity at secondary level. As a result, gender parity in education was achieved in 63% of countries at primary level and 37% at secondary level in 2005.
  • Aid to basic education in low-income countries more than doubled between 2000 and 2004 before falling back in 2005. In 2005, low-income countries received US$2.3b for basic education compared to US$1.6b in 1999.
  • The Education for All Development Index (EDI) calculated for 129 countries, shows that 25 countries are far from achieving EFA, of which about two-thirds are in sub-Saharan Africa. Fifty-three countries are in an intermediate position, where participation rates in primary education are often high, but where the EDI value is pulled down by low education quality or low adult literacy levels. According to projections based on current trends, 58 of the 86 countries that have not yet reached universal primary education will not achieve it by 2015.

HIV/AIDS prevention education project

A new partnership between UNESCO and an Italian foundation has made $1.7m available for the funding of an HIV/AIDS prevention education project in Angola, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland for two years. The new initiative will provide prevention education programmes and materials to some 100 000 students in each of the target countries. Almost 100 schools and 1 000 teachers will be involved in the initiative, which will also include activities related to reducing stigmatisation of HIV-positive people.

International Year of Astronomy

The United Nations has declared 2009 the International Year of Astronomy, adding fresh impetus to South African star-gazer’s efforts to encourage more young people to study mathematics and science. According to Kevin Govender who chairs the local steering committee to drive South Africa’s participation in events marking the International Year of Astronomy, ‘this is a huge opportunity to spark the curiosity of young people and get them interested in astronomy. We can use the stars to start a conversation about science and technology, and inspire people towards learning’. The International Year of Astronomy is intended to celebrate the first astronomical use of the telescope by Italian scientist Galileo Galilei – a development that lent support to the then revolutionary idea proposed by Copernicus that the earth orbited the sun.

Football stars promote education for all children

South Africa’s Aaron Mokoena, captain of Bafana-Bafana, and other international football stars playing in the African Cup of Nations 2008 have come together to help UNICEF raise money for children across Africa to receive a quality education.

South Africa’s 2007 school statistics

According to the 2007 School Realities published by the Dept of Education (DoE), there were 12.41m learners in 26 099 ordinary schools (12.04m learners in 24 974 ordinary public schools and 0.37m learners in 1 125 ordinary independent schools) in 2007 who were served by 395 452 educators. By comparison, there were 12.29m learners in 26 269 ordinary schools served by 385 860 educators in 2006.

On a provincial basis, KwaZulu-Natal, the most populated province in the country, was in the lead with 2.85m learners, 88 023 educators and 6 060 schools in 2007. KwaZulu-Natal was followed by the Eastern Cape with 2.14m learners, 66 246 educators and 5 852 schools, Gauteng with 1.88m learners, 63 212 educators and 2 397 schools, and Limpopo with 1.78m learners, 54 797 educators and 4 080 schools. The Northern Cape, the least populated province in the country, had only 0.26m learners, 8 522 educators and 613 schools in 2007.

On a gender basis, there were slightly more male than female learners in ordinary schools in 2007 (6.22m versus 6.19m). In Grade R the gender distribution was 245 116 boys vs 242 409 girls; in primary education (Grades 1 to 7) it was 3.74m boys vs 3.57m girls; and in secondary education (Grades 8 to 12) it was 2.20m boys vs 2.35m girls.

In 2007, 9.4% of all learners at ordinary schools were enrolled in Grade 1, compared with 5% enrolled in Grade 12. This means that for every Grade 12 learner there were 1.9 Grade 1 learners.

Nationally, the learner-to-educator ratio (LER) for ordinary public schools in 2007 was 32.3. On a provincial basis, the LER ranged between 29.1 in the Free State and 33.2 in Mpumalanga.

The gross enrolment ratio (GER) for primary schools nationally, using 7 year-olds as the appropriate school-age population for Grade 1, was 103% in 2007. The highest GERs for primary schools were in the Eastern Cape (120%), Mpumalanga (109%) and KwaZulu-Natal (105%), while the Free State had the lowest GER (91%). Nationally, the GER for secondary schools was 91%. In two provinces, Limpopo (104%) and Mpumalanga (103%), the GERs for secondary schools exceeded 100%.

The gender parity index (GPI) for primary schools in 2007 was 0.97, while for secondary schools it was 1.08. GPI values exceeding 100 indicate that, in proportion to the appropriate school-age population, there are more females than males in the school system.

2007 senior certificate examination results

Both the number of matric candidates and the number of candidates obtaining senior certificates have increased significantly over the last five years. In 2007, 564 775 Grade 12 learners wrote the matric exam, up from 528 525 in 2006 and 440 267 in 2003. The number of learners passing Grade 12 in 2007 was 368 217, up from 351 503 in 2006 and 322 492 in 2003. According to Nick Taylor of the JET Education Services, ‘this is a solid achievement on the part of government, ensuring that more children enter the labour market each year with the minimum qualification required for white collar jobs in both the public and private sectors’. However, since 2003 the matric pass rate has been declining annually, from 73.2% in 2003 to 66.5% in 2006 and to 65.2% in 2007. In addition, the endorsement rate has also declined from 18.2% in 2004 to 15.1% in 2007.

On a provincial basis, the Western Cape and Gauteng continued to be the two top performing provinces in 2007 with matric pass rates of 80.6% and 74.6%, respectively and endorsement rates of 24.6% and 20.4%, respectively. However, the 2007 pass rates of the two top provinces (as well as all other provinces except Limpopo and North West) were significantly lower than the 2006 rates of 83.7% and 78.3%, respectively. The Eastern Cape and Limpopo continued to be the two lagard provinces in 2007 with pass rates of 56.9% and 57.9%, respectively and endorsement rates of 9.3% and 11.7%, respectively.

A positive sign is the number of Grade 12 learners passing higher grade (HG) maths which has increased slightly from 25 217 in 2006 to 25 415 in 2007, while the number of matrics passing standard grade (SG) maths has increased significantly from 110 452 in 2006 to 123 813 in 2007. In the case of HG science passes, however, the numbers declined from 29 781 in 2006 to 28 122 in 2007, while there was a significant increase in the number of SG science passes from 81 151 in 2006 to 87 485 in 2007. Thus, 2007 saw large increases in the number of SG passes in both maths and science. According to Nick Taylor, ‘it is possible that many of these candidates are capable of passing at the HG, and it would seem that the DOE’s efforts in trying to persuade schools to shift more candidates from SG to HG are not yet bearing as much fruit as had been hoped’.

Free education

The ANC plans to make 60% of South African schools ‘fee-free’ by next year and ultimately to ensure that education is free for the poor up to undergraduate level, according to draft resolutions adopted at its elective conference in Dec 2007. According to the DoE, 40% of schools, attended by almost 5m learners have already been declared no-fee schools from Jan 2007 at a cost to the state of more than R3b.

SA’s skills gap

A Finweek report has highlighted SA’s education crisis and concomitant skills shortage. In a nutshell, the education system is failing to face up to the challenges of global competition in the 21st century. In the report, Stellenbosch economist Servaas van den Berg suggests that even if we could get the education system functioning optimally now, it would take an entire generation (30-40 years) ‘before we see the results of a well-educated society working its way through the labour market and economy.’

The extent of the education crisis is reflected inter alia in the fact that during the past two years 535 000 learners left school without earning any certificate. These school leavers will in all likelihood join the ranks of the unemployed. In addition, less than half of the 675 132 learners who started school in 1999 actually made it to matric.

According to the report the prognosis for the matric classes of 2010 and 2011 is not much better - when the class of 2010 (now in Grade 10) was in Grade 3 in 2001, the national survey of performance showed that 30% did not achieve the required standard in numeracy, and 54% did not achieve the required standard in literacy. For the class of 2011, the 2005 Grade 6 evaluation showed that only 28% performed at the required standard in numeracy. For literacy the rate was 38%. Adding to the crisis is the fact that SA is losing skilled professionals to other countries who use South Africa as a hunting ground for recruitment. A study recently found that the loss of one skilled professional in SA costs up to 10 unskilled jobs.

Traumatised children

According to Pretoria clinical psychologist, Marita Rademeyer, between 20% and 40% of South African children were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The latest available police statistics on child victims of crime, for the period 2005 to 2006, showed that 1 075 children were murder victims. Of the attempted murders reported, 1 378 were children. In this period nearly 24 000 children were raped. Because trauma changes a child's brain functions, it has far-reaching consequences, for instance, children struggling to concentrate at school, sleeping badly or being aggressive and fearful. Child educational psychologist Professor Kobus Maree says most South African children are genuinely traumatised. ‘They're exposed to events that are way beyond their control. That's the worst. It doesn't surprise me that children develop physical or mental illnesses.’ He argues, therefore, that school subjects such as life skills could be a lot more useful in helping children to cope with trauma, and that schools could use a lot more of this time to discuss trauma.

Making the right (?) choices

Research in the USA shows that about 50% of high school seniors in 2000 had planned to continue their education after college and acquire an advanced degree, compared with only 20% of seniors in 1976. In reality, however, the actual percentage of high school seniors who obtained advanced degrees remained the same. This suggests that many of today’s young people have unrealistic expectations about the future.

Outlook for 2008 and beyond

Some of the education-related forecasts recently identified by The Futurist include the following:

  • In the USA only 10% of higher education is now conducted online, while e-training accounts for 30% of corporate training and is likely to exceed 50% soon. The fact that 100m Americans are engaged in continuing education suggests a healthy and expanding demand for online college courses.
  • Human knowledge capability (the quantity of available knowledge multiplied by the power of technology to process that knowledge) is expected to increase by a thousand billion billion in the 21st century.
  • As effective voice recognition software replaces the keyboard, traditional concepts of literacy become less relevant. Education will shift from teaching, reading, writing, and arithmetic toward encouraging creativity, imagination and critical thinking.
  • By 2020 only 70% of American working age men will be working, and by 2050 only 66%, as more time is spent at university and taking time off instead of waiting until retirement to enjoy life.

Education Trends is compiled by the Institute for Futures Research.

This Work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License


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