EDUCATION
GAVIN KEETON: Improved schooling can change the face of SA quickly
For individuals, education promotes employment, earnings and health. It raises pride and opens new horizons
It is a pity that President Cyril Ramaphosa, in working to achieve a new beginning for SA, has not yet focused on basic education. Improved schooling has the potential to deliver substantial gains quite quickly in the living standards of the majority of South Africans. The transformative potential of schooling is confirmed by the World Bank’s 2018 World Development Report, which is devoted to education. Referring to the economic and social benefits of education, it says: "For individuals, education promotes employment, earnings and health. It raises pride and opens new horizons. For societies, it drives long-term economic growth, reduces poverty, spurs innovation, strengthens institutions and fosters social cohesion." These are clearly urgent needs for SA. Importantly, they can be achieved quickly, because children pass through the schooling system rapidly. The report notes that at the end of the Korean War it was assumed that South Korea would not survive without foreign aid and th...
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