SHEETAL BHOOLA
As South Africans, we all have been reminded that the education sector has been prioritised. Recently, we have been privy to the government resorting to various avenues to address the challenges our education system experiences.
The challenges have deepened as the years have passed, even though the sector attracts the government’s most considerable spend regularly. Despite the large proportion solely dedicated to improving resources and other infrastructural demands, universities and other higher education institutions must manage budget cuts.
Before the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) dilemma of delayed disbursement of funds, South Africans had to contend with the possibility of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill, which could be beneficial for some and detrimental to others if passed.
The most recent debacle calls out about 50 teachers who applied for jobs, using false or fraudulent qualifications, in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education. An internal forensic investigation was conducted timeously and is responsible for revealing the information.
The challenge has existed for many years, yet a particular sect of society believes that the deviant approach is effective in securing jobs in the education sector. The behaviour is often motivated by citizens who are either misguided or unaware of previous fraudulent cases excluded from rigorous investigation and appropriate consequences.
In 2022, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga stated that the Cape region has been employing teachers who are under-qualified and unqualified. She said about 1 600 teachers were employed but needed to be more skilled appropriately to teach.
In previous years, it was also reported that several provincial education departments had ghost teachers on their payrolls. The employment of unqualified or under-qualified teachers impacts the capacity of children to read, write and count effectively.
In addition, many schools in rural and impoverished areas have yet to have access to digital platforms as learning tools. South African youth are then disadvantaged and must be adequately prepared to be employed within the national and international corporate sectors.
Recently, the Educor-owned colleges (City Varsity, Damelin, Icesa City Campus and Lyceum College) have been deregistered for failing to comply with reasonable governance regulations. The private educational entity failed to submit audited financial results for 2021 and 2022.
The educational entity is one of many groups that has been absorbing the matriculants that the 26 state universities cannot accommodate post the completion of Grade 12. South African public universities have been inundated with applicants in recent years but are forced to turn students away because there is no capacity to enrol them. There are an inadequate number of seats.
The Department of Higher Education has been aware of the debacle, and the result is that a small percentage of South Africans have an opportunity to study at a state university. The varied qualifications that private institutions like Educor offer have prepared young adults for the world of employment and, as a result, have contributed effectively to alleviating the high rates of youth unemployment.
Now that Educor has been deregistered, where and what does the overflow of youth do after they complete Grade 12? Many privately owned colleges have played a significant role in developing literacy and numeracy skills for people. We are yet to hear of a contingency plan.
The low levels of accountability between schools and provincial departments can also be a contributing element towards the lack of evaluation systems in place. The need for accountability amid provincial education departments, schools and their staff cohort is dire.
If everyone within the system adopted a philosophy of accountability and transparency, a stronger work ethic among teachers could be attained. However, more importantly, such a system would be able to identify poor-performing teachers and analyse the broader long-term impact such a teacher could have on pupils.
With a substantial portion of government funding being directed to the education sector, should there not be a dedicated allocation towards policy upkeep and regulation of good governance of private and public education sectors? As a democracy fraught with an unequal education system, corruption and fraud, and historical disadvantages, an effective assessment and management system should be a priority.
Good governance would ideally be inclusive of the basic five principles: accountability; leadership, integrity, stewardship and transparency. The lack of transparency and accountability continues to be a concern. For instance, we have been alerted about why the Educor group has been deregistered, but we need to be informed if there was a valid reason for the group to breach regulations.
In addition, we are trying to understand why the disbursement process of NSFAS was delayed this year. South Africans have been informed that the delays resulted from internal organisational restructuring and policy modifications. I initially thought this was an unacceptable response for the delays, and this stance indicated a lack of empathy and relative contextual understanding of the plight of young students who head off to university from impoverished backgrounds. A systematic structure that includes continual monitoring and evaluation can aid the systems in becoming efficient and effective in their tasks.
An effective educational system could help South Africa’s youth gain financial and social stability and minimise the impact of poverty and unemployment. A modification or amendment to the acts that govern the sector should be considered to eradicate the multiple challenges at hand.
The National Education Policy Act of 1996 ideally inscribes laws into policies and mandates monitoring responsibilities, The South African Schools Act of 1996 promotes access to education and, ideally, should ensure quality and democratic governance in the schooling systems. The Employment of Educators Act of 1998 is supposed to ensure that educators are responsible about professionalism, morals and ethics. In addition, it is this act that verifies the competency requirements for teachers.
The challenges undermine the validity and purpose of the three acts, which call for an immediate new approach that can manage the educational sector effectively through systematic, rigorous monitoring and principles of good governance. The continual irregularities in the academic sector pose serious threats to the development of the future young South Africans. Such a ripple effect can harm a healthy and prosperous functional society.
Dr Sheetal Bhoola is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand, and the director at StellarMaths (Phoenix and Sunningdale). She has a PhD and two MA degrees in social sciences.
Daily News