SA’s education system: A call for equity and transformation

By Professor Heloise Sathorar, Executive Dean, Faculty of Education, Nelson Mandela University (below)

The release of the results of the Class of 2024 provides us with an opportune moment to celebrate the achievements of our learners while also reflecting on the disparities plaguing our education system. Despite three decades of democracy, unequal resource distribution in schools remains a persistent challenge, casting a shadow over our aspirations for equity and justice.

Learners in schools nationwide, particularly those in rural and under-resourced areas, face uphill battles that many of us cannot imagine. Yet, these learners are expected to sit for the same Matric exams as their peers in well-resourced schools, where access to digital devices, textbooks, and modern teaching aids is given, and when the results are released, we make as if there were no difference in the experience of these learners. We share the results as if both contexts were equal.

This reality underscores the deep-rooted inequalities that continue to pervade our education system. Education can be a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of poverty and promoting social mobility, but until we address systemic failures and provide equitable access to quality education, we cannot honestly claim to be free in this country.

Unequal foundations

I recently read an article featuring a school in the Eastern Cape, 300 kilometres from Gqeberha. The headline read, “250 learners fail maths because they don’t have a maths teacher”. Not only that, but they were also lacking a Principal and a Deputy Principal. This scenario raises fundamental questions about governance and accountability. Who caused this problem, and who is responsible for fixing such systemic failures? The core issue here is governance. 

The Department of Education is accountable for appointing suitably qualified educators to schools and ensuring a teacher in every classroom provides quality education. Furthermore, the Department needs to provide the necessary resources and support to teachers, who play a critical role in shaping our children’s futures. This includes not only textbooks and teaching materials but also meaningful professional development and training on alternative teaching strategies that make learning relevant and accessible.

Digital divide

Another pressing issue is the widening digital divide. In many urban schools, learners use advanced technologies – interactive whiteboards, smart devices, and online learning platforms like Moodle. These schools have shifted away from physical textbooks to fully digital learning environments.

Yet, in stark contrast, 80% of schools in South Africa, primarily in rural and township areas, lack even basic technological infrastructure. In some cases, there aren’t enough textbooks for every learner and if there are two or three textbooks between a class of 30 students, it’s a lot, let alone computers or internet access – or even electricity in extreme cases.

In one particularly memorable instance, I observed a student teacher who had to improvise in a school with no chalkboard or resources to write on. In an incredible display of resilience, she used a large poster from a local retail store. She turned it over and transformed the back into a makeshift blackboard. Her innovation and resourcefulness highlight the dire circumstances many educators face daily and their incredible determination to overcome these challenges.

This differs significantly from well-resourced schools where every learner can access digital devices. Such disparities must be addressed to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots in education.

Preparing educators for diverse contexts

I have identified the need for government intervention and accountability, but as educators of the future generation, we have a role to play in addressing the educational disparities in South Africa. At Nelson Mandela University, we emphasise humanising pedagogy principles in the Faculty of Education and prepare our future educators to teach in diverse contexts, focusing on understanding their learners’ lived realities. We strive to expose our student teachers to well-resourced and under-resourced schools, ensuring they know context’s importance in the learning process.

Comprehensive practical training is crucial to help student teachers adapt to the real-world challenges they will face in the classroom. Whether teaching without access to technology or working in multi-lingual environments, educational institutions need to prepare students to think critically and creatively, drawing on community resources where necessary.

A commitment to inclusive education is another cornerstone of our approach. It is important to teach student teachers how to identify and address learning barriers and understand that no two learners are the same. This understanding helps them create a more equitable learning environment, even in challenging circumstances.

It is also imperative that for our multi-lingual country, we ensure that our future educators are equipped to teach in diverse linguistic settings. This is essential as South Africa embraces mother tongue teaching and utilising multi-lingual teaching methods.

Call to action

With the Matric results now released, it’s a time to celebrate the resilience and achievements of South Africa’s learners, many of whom have overcome immense challenges to reach this milestone.

Congratulations to those who have passed – you have reaped the rewards of your hard work, and to those who did not, there is always another opportunity.

I extend my deepest gratitude to the teachers for your unwavering dedication to your learners in the face of adversity.

Let the announcement of the matric results not be a once-off event, but let us use this period to reflect on the systemic changes needed to create a fair and just education system and may this reflection lead to action. Teaching remains the backbone of our society, and the need for strong, committed educators has never been greater. A great teacher uses education as a tool for transformation. For education to be the transformative force we all believe it can be, we must recommit ourselves to eradicating school inequality. Only then can we truly say we are on the path toward a liberated and just society.