Cape Town - In the presence of high public school dropout rates, poor literacy and mathematical comprehension, unqualified or under-qualified teachers, teenage pregnancy, and poor infrastructure and sanitation at schools across the country, political parties have lambasted the French for giving an award to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
Despite letters from the Head of the DA and ActionSA to French Ambassador to South Africa, David Martinon, formally requesting he rethink awarding Motshekga with the Knight of the French National Legion of Honour (Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur) on behalf of French president Emmanuel Macron, the ceremony went ahead at the French Embassy in Pretoria on Friday.
According to the Department of Basic Education, the award was in recognition of Motshekga’s “commitment towards access to quality education, inclusive education, girls schooling, the challenge of youth employability, and as a privilege partner for educational co-operation between South Africa and the French Republic”.
ActionSA President Herman Mashaba stated that her performance did not merit an award, and that in her 14 years in office, the education system had continued to stagnate and worsen.
According to recent data in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021), 81% of Grade 4 pupils could not read for meaning in any language, an increase from 78% in 2016.
South Africa also experienced the largest decline in reading outcomes of all 33 countries/regions with data in 2016 and 2021, and despite this the country had no real plan or budget to catch up on learning losses.
The country also faced an impending teacher shortage crisis, death of children in pit latrines, and high rates of teenage pregnancy, Mashaba said.
DA spokesperson on basic education Baxolile Nodada said the party had also written to Martinon. “South African children cannot read for meaning and do not have necessary numeracy skills,” Baxolile said in a statement.
In response to a DA parliamentary question, the minister revealed that 471 schools did not have proper sanitation facilities, and that 5 201 schools still had pit toilets, the party revealed.
Organisations such as Section27, Equal Education, Amnesty International SA, and the SA Human Rights Commission, have over the years criticised the minister and her department over inadequate measures taken to eradicate pit latrines.
Taking to X, Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane called awarding Motshekga an insult to South Africans.
“The truth is that the minister has not delivered quality education; instead she has extended the reign of Bantu Education in South Africa. Instead of receiving awards, she should be fired from her job,” he said.
Motshekga said during the ceremony: “To be named a Knight of the National Order Legion of Honour is not just a personal accolade but a testament to the unyielding spirit of our nation and the enduring bonds that tie South Africa and France together.”