THE MEDIA recently published several articles on South Africa’s prominent leaders, many holding top positions in the government, claiming they had obtained certain academic qualifications.
First was former minister of arts and culture and ANC stalwart Pallo Jordan, who often used the fraudulent title of “Dr”. Second was SABC’s former chairperson, Ellen Tshabalala, who reportedly registered for several modules with Unisa but failed to complete most of them. As if that wasn’t enough, the ambassador to Japan, Mohau Pheko also got into hot water. She wasted no time in setting the record straight, admitting to SABC that she too lied about her doctorate qualification.
These findings are worrying; they belittle the value of education in South Africa, and set a bad example for our youth, as well as tarnishing and questioning the credibility of our leaders. It’s worrying to learn that even as he still holds one of the most prominent positions in the country as SABC’s chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng is legally not qualified for the position earning him more than R2.4 million a year (as reported by the public protector), while more than 600 000 qualified graduates remain jobless.
Our country is widely acknowledged as having one of the world’s worst education systems. One would think improving it would be top priority. Unfortunately this has not been the case, despite the money spent.
In fact, according to Department of Economics researcher at Stellenbosch University Nicholas Spaull, our government spends the equivalent of $1 225 (R14 898) per child on primary education, yet accomplishes less than Kenya which roughly spends $258 per child. It is no surprise that South Africa’s education system has been strongly slated. There are several reasons:
n The textbook shortage, school infrastructure backlogs, and general poor state of equipment;
n The Grade 9 ANA mathematics results (where the average mark scored by students was 10 percent);
n Grade 3, 6 and 9 schoolchildren are functionally illiterate, don’t understand simple English, and can’t grasp basic maths.
Improving quality
Such cases question our commitment as a society to providing quality education.
As a young person who acknowledges the prominence of education and understands that our country’s future depends on us youngsters, I have reason to emphasise my concern. If we want a better future we must invest in projects that matter, and few matter more right now than education.
We might disagree on specifics, but we have rarely faltered in our recognition that education is a right, and that higher education is a priority for the country.
If we have learnt anything from economics, it’s that education leads to prosperity. I am reminded of prosperous countries that fall under two categories; nations that own vast natural resources and the second category – a much larger one – consists of countries that have an educated society. Most of the countries that have long been the wealthiest in the world have maintained that status by having universal pre-college education and a strong commitment to higher education. Resource-poor countries in Europe enjoy much higher living standards than many resource-rich countries such as South Africa that do not devote themselves to education.
If we want South Africa to thrive, our commitment should be firmly focussed on creating a system of quality education. In case we need another example, Japan has very few natural resources and came out of World War II with its industrial base all but destroyed. Despite this, Japan committed itself to building a first class education system, and is now one of the world’s most powerful economies.
Apartheid cannot be solely blamed for our current education state – after 21 years of democracy, our education should have improved! Our education system can be improved through mass social action. The first step should be for the government to employ state officials based on merit and insist on academic qualifications that meet the job requirements.
With Youth Day behind us, we can honour and celebrate the lives of those who fought for a democratic South Africa by providing quality education – ignoring this is dangerous and self-destructive.
Abram Molelemane is the media co-ordinator for Fetola, enterprise development specialist consultancy.