Education at a crossroads
THE 2013 matric results tell us little that is unknown to most observers and students of education systems. It is a fact that South Africa needs a world-class education system to be a world-class nation.
The results remind us of the need to move the discourse on the efficacy or otherwise of our education system to another level. We need action that delivers results rather than holier-than-thou rhetoric on who is to blame for poor results in general and dismal maths and science results in particular.
Assigning blame is easier than the difficult task of coming up with solutions that work.
What is required is constructive and positive engagement on scalable solutions to the challenges facing our education system. Everyone has a role to play. We need a national charter of commitment by teachers‚ the government‚ unions‚ business and student bodies to sustainably improve our education system. Education is everyone’s problem. The economic‚ social‚ political and personal cost of a bad education is huge. Allowing our young people to go through a system that does not adequately prepare them to be world-class players in the competitive professional landscape of the 21st century is scandalous and tantamount to preparing them for permanent serfdom. President Jacob Zuma can leave a legacy for generations by dedicating his final term in office to education.
Business leaders who are patriotic and committed to South Africa’s global competitiveness and sustained growth and development should lead by example.
They should stop mourning the poor education system and do something about it.
Business has the necessary resources to bring about positive change in society. It is in the self-interest of business to have a world-class education system that produces world-class workers and managers to underpin world-class companies. The focus on education should also be on the mass skilling of the population at all levels. Germany and Japan are what they are because their approach to education is more comprehensive and far-reaching than most countries. We need a world-class approach to ensuring that everyone knows something and is capable of doing something to earn a decent living. That is what has partly made China‚ India‚ Singapore and South Korea the successes they are. We can and must emulate and surpass them if we want to be a first world country within a generation.
Scoring cheap political points and passing the buck is not what we need. We need plans that can produce a huge and sustained turnaround in our education system.
What‚ then‚ are some of the plans worthy of consideration?
First‚ we need to ensure that education is a national strategic priority. This means huge resources need to be dedicated to bolster under-resourced schools‚ communities‚ teachers and pupils. There are systemic aspects to the education challenge facing us and they need to be dealt with effectively and honestly.
Second‚ the improvements that have been made need to be acknowledged.
Free State University vice-chancellor Jonathan Jansen’s cynical approach towards our education system is unhelpful and dangerous.
It is unscholarly and propagandist and should be rejected with contempt.
Third‚ maths and science need to take centre stage in the government effort to turn around the education system. We need to set specific targets against which we measure our schools‚ municipalities‚ districts‚ provinces and the country at large.
To pass the buck is easier‚ as Jansen has shown so well. To come up with well-considered solutions and interventions is the most difficult part‚ and critics such as Jansen have dismally failed in this regard‚ which is shameful and pedestrian for the head of a university.
There is nothing career-limiting about being perpetually cynical and negative to get cheap publicity. The authorities would be foolish to take that seriously. We in business expect more grounded‚ objective and scientific research from respectable leaders of our universities than selective and half-baked analyses designed to perpetuate a line of thought that is patronising of the society and country at large.
South Africa’s education challenge is huge. Our global competitiveness hinges on our ability to find scientific‚ objective and holistic solutions to it. This in turn requires a collaborative and joined-up effort between the government‚ business and civil society – not holier-than-thou publicity stunts that are as unhelpful as they are impractical.
South Africa can and must fix its education challenges. Time is running out. We must all act now to unlock our full potential to have a world-class education system that produces world-class graduates for our world-class companies and public service.