THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Nedlac constituencies focussed on education during the 6th in a series of seminars on issues of national priority. The speakers at the round-table were John Pampallis, the Director of the Centre for Education Policy Development, Thami Mseleku the Director-General of the Department of Education and Shireen Motala, the Director of the Education Policy Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand.

2000 matric results

Although matric results are by no means a definitive measure of the state of education in the country, they do provide some basis for comparison on a year-to-year basis. However, the 9% improvement in the 2000 results can not be seen as a 9% improvement in the performance of learners, warned Mr Pampalis. One of the factors that had to be taken into account was the exclusion of repeaters. It is interesting to note that in 1998, there were 85 000 repeaters, in 1999, this had come down to 62 697 and in 2000, there were only 6326 repeaters. This would account for at least 1% of the increased pass rate, said Mr Pampalis, as repeaters usually have a lower pass rate than first time writers. A further factor was the decrease in the number of students writing for endorsement, or admission to University. This has come down from 411 739 in 1998 to 280 257 in 2000. Other more positive contributions to the improved pass rate incd departmental interventions such as the introduction of continuous assessment, greater stability in schools, the Department's targeting of schools that had a pass rate of less than 20% in 1999 and improved exam administration.

The National Plan for Higher Education

Higher Education needed to be restructured to address the past and be ready to meet the challenges of the future, said Mr Mseleku. The National Higher Education Plan aimed to increase the participation rate in higher education amongst 20-24 year olds from 15% at present to 20% in 10-15 years. It was also aimed at improving the efficiency of the system. In 1998, the average graduation rate (calculated on the basis of the number of graduates as a percentage of head count enrolments) was at 15%. The plan gives benchmarks for increasing graduation rates in the next five years. Taking a three-year, full-time undergraduate programme as an example, the aim would be to increase the ration of graduates to enrolments to 33%.

The plan further focuses on achieving equity and diversity in the Higher Education system, sustaining and promoting research and restructuring the institutional landscape of the system.

Apart from this informal roundtable discussion, the Nedlac constituencies have also been given the opportunity to input into the plan in a more formal process through the Development Chamber.

From Policy to Practice

Focussing on the concept of quality, Ms Motala made the point that while the policy developed since 1994 focuses on quality, implementing quality education in schools has been a real challenge in the first five years of the post-apartheid government. One of the key challenges has been the inability to apply 'ideal type' frameworks and innovative national policies at provincial level.

However, one of the most significant gains made in the post-apartheid situation is the achievement of near-universal access at primary school level and increasing secondary school access. Greater equity in per learner expenditure and greater parity in educator qualifications have also been achieved.