Education enrolments increased, but education levels leave much to be desired, Solidarity study show
Children let down by school system - 22 July 2010

Education enrollments increased, but education levels leave much to be desired, Solidarity study shows Children let down by school system

Only 7,6% of the almost 1,44 million pupils who started their school career in 1998 qualified for tertiary training in 2009. A study released by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) today further shows that the matric pass rate rose from 58% to 65% between 1994 and 2007, but the number of pupils who met the admission requirements for university studies decreased from 18% to 15%.

“Three out of every four pupils who leave South Africa’s school system have inadequate skills to enter the labour market successfully. True empowerment will only take place when appropriate skills are transferred, enabling pupils to enter the labour market,” Johan Kruger, head of the SRI, said.

The study forms part of the SRI’s South African Transformation Monitor (SAT Monitor) and focuses on transformation in the education sector, with specific reference to education enrollments and levels between 1994 and 2009.

According to Kruger, access to education has increased since 1994, but the quality of education leaves much to be desired. School enrollments rose from approximately 9 million to around 12,6 million between 1994 and 2008 and university enrollments increased by 33%. The largest increase of university enrollments occurred among Africans* (48%), compared with a decrease of 15% among whites.

Access to and quality of school education Between 1995 and 2006 the percentage of South Africans aged 20 years and older who completed at least Gr. 7 increased in all racial groups. The study shows that 70% of Africans, 79,7% of coloureds, 92% of Indians and 99,2% of whites completed schooling of Gr. 7 or higher in this period.

Competence in mathematics and science is a big problem, however. According to the study, only a small number of matriculants wrote maths and science between 2006 and 2009. In 2009 only 45,97% of this group passed maths and the pass rate for science dropped from 67,39% in 2006 to just 36,83% in 2009.

According to Kruger the problem starts in the preprimary phase already. “Gr. 3 and Gr. 6 pupils already show a lack of proficiency in respect of language and maths. A big contributing factor to this problem is unqualified teachers who, in many cases, cannot even meet the requirements that are set for pupils. The South African Institute of Race Relations found as far back as 2005 that 33 640 South African teachers do not have the required teaching qualifications,” Kruger said.

Tertiary education Only 20% of the matriculants who passed Gr. 12 in 2009 qualified for tertiary education. More than half (51,8%) of the estimated 138 000 first-year students who embarked on university studies in 2002 did not complete their first year. Only about a third of these students (33,38%) completed their studies within five years and 20 600 of them are still studying.

The study shows that 77 981 degrees were obtained at South African universities in 2007 – more than 44% of these degrees were awarded to Africans, while 40,43% were awarded to whites, 6,34% were awarded to coloureds and 8,75% were awarded to Indians.