A lot is being said about learners and maths but not nearly enough about education officials’ calculations. Dr Jaco Deacon, CEO of the Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (Fedsas) explains that government’s numbers are not adding up.
The latest available data on the education landscape shows that South Africa currently has 22 259 public schools and 2 507 independent schools. This is 122 fewer schools than a year ago, while the system grew by 54 454 learners over the same period.
Of the nine provinces only one has more schools than last year, namely the Western Cape with eight additional schools. The number of learners in the Western Cape increased by 3 608 but there are 1 186 fewer educators for the total number of 1 212 282 learners. Over a ten-year period, the Western Cape effectively added only 17 additional schools.
In Gauteng the data creates a sense of disbelief. Over the past year, the number of learners in the province increased by 10 867 yet there are five fewer schools than 12 months ago. At least there are 277 additional educators to teach the children. Over a ten-year period, there are 17 fewer schools to serve the 2 340 853 learners.
Gauteng already has the biggest average school size in the country – nearly double the size of the average school elsewhere. This is a charge against all the MECs that served over the past two terms. The province simply did not build enough new schools to keep up with population growth and migration.
The public school landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade. More than 592 000 learners joined the system but the number of public schools has decreased by 1 646. Urbanisation and migration to provinces with better job opportunities are two of the most important drivers behind this trend.
Independent schools seize the gap
Although the independent school sector is still relatively small compared to the public education system, the growth is remarkable. Over the past decade, the sector grew from 1 786 schools to 2 507 schools. This is an increase of 721 schools over ten years, or more than 70 new schools per year.
Nearly half of these schools are in Gauteng, where the sector grew with nearly 33% from 700 to 931 schools over the past decade, currently serving 343 932 learners. It is safe to say these schools play an important role in alleviating the pressure on the provincial education system.
The Western Cape has 118 more independent schools than ten years ago, with some 22 850 learners attending these schools. It is clear that the independent school sector represents a growing market that offers parents different and often affordable options.
Funding education
In total, education receives nearly 24% of the national budget of R2,67 trillion, with basic education receiving R344,7 billion. On paper the sector appears well-funded but at provincial and school level we often experience the opposite.
Only about 7% of the education budget reaches the school gate in the form of an allocation per learner. The remaining 93% of the budget is spent on salaries and administrative expenses. This places tremendous pressure on school communities, and especially parents, to contribute to the funding of education at school-level.
ALSO READ: MENING | Onderwysdepartemente ‘druip’ oorbetalings aan skole
Most of the provinces struggle to fulfil their financial obligations to schools. At least a third of the provinces uses a significant part of the new financial year’s budget to pay off debt of the previous year.
Posts remain vacant or appointments are purposefully delayed to save money. Although the Director-General of Basic Education recently denied that there is a moratorium on non-educator posts, the reality is that these posts are simply not filled.
The core of the problem is that there are too many officials in to0 many administrative structures who do not really make any contribution to the quality of education at school-level. Enormous amounts are spent on district structures and administration while schools experience a shortage of teachers and a lack of practical support.
The system could probably function far better with a smaller but more competent provincial bureaucratic structure, with more capacity and responsibility at the level of schools.
Poor management and incompetence have resulted in many provinces facing serious financial challenges. The same people who caused these problems cannot solve it. To rectify this situation, new, dynamic provincial leadership is required who can bring about real change with small but effective core teams.
The role of school fees
There are fewer than 3 000 public schools of the total of 22 259 that can still charge school fees. Even at these schools, parents who cannot afford to pay may apply for exemption of school fees, with little or no compensation from the State to the school.
Parents who do pay school fees, from income that was already taxed, annually contribute about R60 billion to keep schools operational. The biggest contribution comes from the middle class that is already buckling under increasing financial pressure.
The so-called school-fee schools are mainly in quintiles 4 and 5. The state allocation amounts to only R920 per learner per year for quintile 4 and R315 per learner per year for quintile 5. This is about R4,60 and R1,57 per learner per school day respectively. Without school fees from parents these schools would not be able to operate. Additional and continually increasing funding from parents is not a sustainable model.
If an additional R60 billion per year is needed, one possible conclusion can be that basic education is still underfunded by at least 15%.
But perhaps we should rather ask how much of the R60 billion from the pockets of parents would still be needed if the existing R344,7 billion is managed properly.
Reconsider the system
Many of the current policy and financial models are outdated and not sustainable. Urgent reflection is required on, among others, new education models, a more realistic post provisioning model, sustainable financial models and especially the size and functioning of the education bureaucracy.
If we are truly serious about the future of our children we should stop pumping money into the system and rather focus on what is really important – more schools, more excellent educators and more capacity where it makes the biggest difference: in the classroom.
ALSO READ: ‘Improvement project’ at primary school at a standstill, incomplete work a safety risk
You must be logged in to post a comment.