SOUTH AFRICA FOCUSES ON EDUCATIONAL ACCESS, NOT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 000213 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON SF SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA FOCUSES ON EDUCATIONAL ACCESS, NOT QUALITY PRETORIA 00000213 001.2 OF 002 THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED AND NOT INTENDED FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Government policy since 1994 has sought to ensure that all population groups in South Africa have equal access to education. However, the quality of education has been neglected, leaving many learners unqualified for university or to join South Africa's workforce, which needs skilled labor. A "pro-poor" education policy targeting children from underprivileged backgrounds might help to redress the country's extreme socioeconomic inequalities. END SUMMARY. -------------- SAG COMMITTED TO UNIVERSAL ENROLLMENT -------------- ¶2. (U) University of Witwatersrand Education Policy Analyst Shireen Motala spoke about meaningful access to education in South Africa at the Institute of Justice and Reconciliation's launch of its 2008 Transformation Audit on 15 January. Motala pointed out that post-apartheid legislation is proof that South Africa is committed to education for all. South Africa, unlike many other developing countries, provides near universal access to basic education, albeit in a system of racial inequity and poor quality. The SAG's focus since 1994, she said, has been to ensure equitable access to education, which is in line with South Africa's Bill of Rights and which is intended to redress racial inequalities. Age-specific enrollment rates for 6-15 year olds in South Africa is over 95 percent, with just under 2 percent never entering school. Most learners stay in school through the end of primary school, with 88 percent of learners finishing grade 7 in 2003. The drop out rate in grade 11 is estimated about 30 percent, and by age 19 it is around 50 percent. (NOTE: Under apartheid, significant numbers of children received schooling, especially in primary grades, but schools for blacks were consistently underresourced. In the 1980s, however, there was a considerable expansion of secondary schools for black learners. END NOTE) ¶3. (U) The SAG has also dramatically increased funding to education. The SAG's educational expenditure increased from R31.1 billion (US 3 billion) in 1995, to R59.6 billion (almost US 6 billion) in 2002, to R105 billion in 2006/07 (US 10 billion),and is expected to increase to R127 billion (almost US 13 billion) by 2010. In real terms, education expenditure amounted to 19.9% of consolidated national and provincial expenditures. Expenditure on national education represented 5.4% of GDP in 2006/07, and is expected to be 5.3% in 2009. -------------- BUT TO WHAT END? -------------- ¶4. (U) Despite the increase in government spending under the ANC, historic backlogs, lack of qualified teachers, and the effects of inflation on education have all diminished the impact, as evidenced by the following: -- Between 1990 and 1994, 33.2% (or 271,098) of grade 12 students passed; in 2008, this number only reached 37.4% (or 368,217). -- Between 1990 and 1994, the average number of years of schooling completed in the 20 to 24 year old cohort was 9.66%; in 2008, this number only grew to 10.27%. -- Many learners in South Africa continue to manage with limited textbooks, poorly stocked libraries, sub-standard infrastructure, and poorly trained educators. (NOTE: In an attempt to racially transform the teaching profession in the 1990s, many teachers in previously advantaged schools were Q1990s, many teachers in previously advantaged schools were given the option to teach at previously disadvantaged schools or apply for early retirement resulting in large numbers of highly qualified teachers leaving the profession. END NOTE) -- South African learners, especially in rural areas and townships, are not competitive in comparison with international levels of achievement, with South Africans faring poorly in relation to regional counterparts in Malawi and Botswana. -- Many learners are unable to read and write adequately and PRETORIA 00000213 002.2 OF 002 their teachers are unable to properly teach them; South Africa's Department of Education evaluation of grade 6 learners in 2005 obtained a mean score of 38% in the language of learning and teaching, 27 % in math, and 41% in natural sciences. Moreover, with uneven capacity among provinces to budget or adequately spend government funds, the quality of public schooling varies dramatically and tends to be better in wealthier areas where schools are able to raise substantial amounts of private donations and hire additional teachers, reduce the teacher/student ratio, and ultimately act as a barrier to poorer families while reinforcing the imbalance in quality. ¶5. (U) Motala argued that achieving the Millennium Development Goal of universal enrollment, while significant, is a one-dimensional goal; meaningful access to education requires more than physical access to a school, and should include high-attendance rates, little or no repetition, and learning outcomes that confirm skills are being mastered. Moreover, educational access is not only about how many learners of school-going age are in school, nor even about how many successfully complete their schooling, but rather about who has access to what kind of schooling and on what basis. Factors such as poverty, unaffordable school fees, low achievement rates, HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, discrimination, and poor health and nutrition can easily outweigh simply having access to an education, she noted. -------------- CAUSES OF EXCLUSION -------------- ¶6. (U) Motala sketched a bleak picture of access patterns in South Africa, showing that most learners enroll and complete primary education, but late entry into school and relatively high repetition rates have a slowing effect on progress through the system. Factors contributing to poor success rates can be grouped into two categories: economic and social factors, including indirect cost of education, family structure, gender, and HIV/AIDS; and school-related factors including racial discrimination, abuse and rape of females by male classmates and educators, and teacher unpreparedness. Interestingly, there is little evidence that child labor, though widespread in South Africa, has been shown to disrupt school enrollment, though it may impact performance. Instead Motala believes protracted poverty tends to be the most important reason for learners being out of school. Though the ANC hopes to extend free education to 60 percent of schools in 2009, indirect costs such as cost of transport, uniforms, books and stationery add extra burdens to already stretched household budgets. Motala added that studies have shown that the Child Support Grant has a tremendous educational benefit, especially in ensuring that learners begin Grade 1 at the appropriate age (in 2003, an estimated 32.8% of households received a government grant based on poverty). -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Post-apartheid South Africa inherited a dysfunctional and racist educational system that had left the majority of the population unprepared to participate in a modern economy. While South Africa has taken great strides toward reaching universal learner access, it has yet to eliminate the drastic racial inequalities in the education system, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds being sent to schools with weak instructors, poor infrastructure, and inadequate financing. The direct result is seen in South Qand inadequate financing. The direct result is seen in South Africa's chronic unemployment problem, caused by the mismatch between a poorly-educated workforce and the needs of a capital- and skills-intensive company. BALL