Brian Isaacs writes that unless the government is prepared to drastically increase funding to poor schools, the majority of schools in South Africa will continue to struggle. File picture: Tumi Pakkies/African News Agency(ANA)
Schools in poor economic areas in South Africa struggle to give pupils the best possible education.
Schools for the wealthy are able to appoint School Governing Body (SGB) teachers from the exorbitant fees they charge, which exceed R15 000 per pupil per year.
Unless the government is prepared to drastically increase funding to poor schools, the majority of schools in South Africa will continue to struggle.
The quality of matric passes will continue to be mediocre if we do not increase the number of teachers in schools for the poor. One would have thought that since the fall of apartheid in 1994, there would have been steps taken to drastically improve education.
In 1996, when political activist Ganief Hendricks predicted that a large number of teachers would be retrenched, people said it would never happen. However, 20 000 teachers were retrenched by the new democratic government in 1996.
South Africans, including Hendricks, staged the largest march in Cape Town in 1996 in opposition to the mass retrenchment of teachers. The largest teacher union in South Africa supported the retrenchment of teachers. Fortunately, the same teacher union is now calling on the government to appoint more teachers.
There is a dearth of teachers in most subjects, especially maths, physical sciences and accounting. These are the subjects that are needed to enter universities for degrees in science and commercial subjects.
Universities and Further Education and Training (FET) institutions must increase their enrolment. Thousands of students are turned away each year because there is no space.
The government, schools and universities must work together seriously to address the huge problems in education.
When I was still teaching, I would tell my pupils that if they met the requirements to get into a university and they were refused admission, they should let me know and I would accompany them to the university.
However, I see that most universities now only want to see the student because it is easier to brush them off.
Teachers, it is our duty to ensure our children receive a quality education. The doors of learning must be opened.
* Brian Isaacs.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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