EDUCATION
GAVIN KEETON: Real change hinges on fixing our schools
A neglected requirement of economic transformation in SA is the need to fix the broken schooling system. Meaningful transformation requires productive jobs for the more than 36% of South Africans unemployed. The key to acquiring a job is at least a matric, or preferably some form of post-matric qualification and training. Without this, the possibility of finding a job is dismal. For most South Africans, the likelihood of gaining the type of education demanded in the labour market is depressingly slim.Stellenbosch academic Nick Spaull warns that for the majority of South Africans, schooling is even worse than many assessments suggest. This is because measures such as matric results are communicated as averages across the schooling system, which camouflages the massive differences between good and poor schools. The reality, Spaull notes, is that there are two education systems. One is largely, though not exclusively, fee-paying and is centred on former Model C and other effective stat...
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