The current state of South Africa’s education system has raised concerns from prominent members of society, most notably the former leader of the Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane and other education experts.
Maimane, who has been among those who are vocal about the state of the country’s education system argues that the assessment criteria for matric does not adequately prepare them for university.
Many of them when they get to matric are being assessed at quite a low rate that the national senior certificate only prepares just less than 12% to get to higher education.
According to Maimane, this translates to a bulk of the students either ending up joining the ranks of the unemployed or becoming unemployable. He adds that this amounts to injustice on the part of the Basic Education Department.
The Department of Basic Education also announced last year that it would be taking over the ECD by March 2022. This is another area of concern for Maimane as he also points out that, following this level of schooling, majority of young people cannot read for meaning by the time they reach the age of 10.
Education Professor, Professor Brahm Fleisch says that the Basic Education Department should primarily focus on improving teaching in early grade learning.
He further states that there should also be a better alignment of budget allocations at the provincial level as well as indicators that keep track of these required interventions.
