Shineeze Goeiman
THE GREATEST PROBLEM FACING SOUTH AFRICA TODAY IS LACK OF EDUCATION
I think the greatest problem facing South Africa today is lack of Education. South Africa has 12 million learners, 36 600 teachers and around 28 000 schools- including 390 special needs schools and 1000 registered private schools. Of all the schools, 6000 are high schools and the rest are primary. For universities entrance, a matric “endorsement” is required, although some universities do set their own additional academic requirements. This year education received R59,7 – billion, amounting to 24% of non-interest expenditure. Although it sounds like a huge amount, it never seems to be enough to go around. Next year the education budget is expected to increase by 8,5%, with most of the additional funds to be ploughed into the provinces. In 1976, in what came to be known as the Soweto Uprising, thousands of scholars protested against conditions in their schools, sowing the seeds for a popular resistance movement, which ultimately contributed to the downfall of the apartheid government. Although today’s government concentrates on rectifying the imbalances in education, the apartheid legacy lingers on. The greatest challenges lie in the poorer, rural provinces like the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Many of the financial problems facing the sector stem from the failure of some provinces to mange their spending properly, but steps have been taken to rectify this. Like so much else in South Africa, our education system is characterized by diversity. Schools and Universities vary greatly in terms of quality, financial resources, ethics and size. The backlogs from so many years of apartheid education are immense. Illiteracy rates are high at around 30% of adults over 15 years old (6-8 million adults are not functionally literate), teachers in townships schools are poorly trained, and the matric pass rate, at 61,7% in 2001, remains unacceptably low. The “liberation now, education later” stance taken during the years of the anti-apartheid struggle severely damaged the culture of learning and teaching in schools and universities. Instead of place of learning, they became sites of protest. In all countries children of poor families have low school enrolment and high dropout rates. Schooling is on elite activity and the higher the rank in the educational pyramid, the more elitist it becomes. Educated children are much more likely to embrace the values that defeat terror.
Businesses should provide more schools with computers and the Internet system. Financial institutions must agree to assist in expending development. The majority of teachers never had the opportunity to be trained on computers because of financial embarrassment. Businesses can provide extra school lessons on syllabus links. It will be excellent if they can establish telecenters and libraries with permanent connections of the Internet, which can serve as learning centers.
Science and Technology are neutral, so whether they are applied for good or bad ends depends totally upon humanity. I think that steps must be taken in this direction by combining neuroscience with education policy to develop the brain’s capacity to learn, to reason and to use logic to solve problems. Bringing together scientist, educators and policy-makers to consider how to best foster and leverage cognitive neuroscience research to optimize learning opportunities. The policy on Science and Technology in South Africa should be based on the framework of a National System of innovation, whose two prime functions are to deliver quality of life to citizens, and economic growth and wealth creation on the nation. The policy of science and technology must be: broadened the scope of policy from science and technology to innovation; support the co-ordination and non-duplication of structures, pursuing the leveling of historical inequalities and human capacity building. The requiring of regular reviews of government science, engineering, and technology institutions. Science and Technology should also provide bursaries to the underprivileged pupils who want to study in the direction of science.
By implementing all of the above, young learners will have a better chance of mastering their education.
Students should be provided with adequate on-line support structures. More assistance and activating some of the important sections of the site, will improve the environment for learners and educators. Businesses should focus on security, equity, education and growth. Considering sports equipment, businesses should encourage participations by organizing tournaments and also provide for those who can’t afford it.
The Department of Education has the responsibility to make a definite impact on education in the country as a whole; preparing the general policy of the government on education, taking responsibility for determining the norms and standard of education; advising on budget allocations for all education service, national and provincial facilitating and supporting eh work of the provinces; accepting responsibility for higher education in the country. South Africa is part of a globalising world, so the forces acting on our nation are becoming more complex an inter-related. We therefore need clear strategic direction and realistic planning to achieve national goals and objectives. Governments should empower a clean and healthy environment for all pupils.
Dealing with problems in South Africa, the largest residential university is South Africa with 27,035 students and 26,363 distance educations students. Universities and other academic institutions can shift the paradigm towards monetary profit and corporate. They can honestly try to give scholarships and bursaries to outside bodies that deserve it. Sports Bursaries is also a very important issue, many students have the talent but are financially embarrassed, and I suggest universities could sponsor these students. It is very selfish for universities not to cede the copyright to undergraduates for their work. Universities should also provide bursaries s to the underprivileged students as well.
The launching of better learning channels of television will have a big impact on ADULTS as well as on our teenagers. Other ways of increasing young South African’s feelings towards education will be to create books that are fun and exiting to read. I think that if the media could provide more educational challenges among pupils, their interest in education will increase and their ability to learn will always be a motivation. The media should be more extensively used to promote good classroom practices, supporting teachers and providing them with more relevant information. The media can make the impossible possible, what will the world be without the media?
