Despite all the odds that were against them since Grade 9, the matric cohort of 2023 went on to achieve a pass rate of 82,9%, the highest since the dawn of democracy. None of the education districts attained anything lower than 60% and 55 districts performed at 80% and above. These results show that this is a system on the rise.
Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, says these results prove the significant growth and improvement that has been witnessed in the last 30 years of democratic education in South Africa.
Many things have changed since the introduction of democratic education according to the country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa. While commemorating 30 years of learning at the beginning of this year, he said he was pleased with the improvement in numbers of people who are now receiving education, saying since 2022, people between the ages of 5 to 24 had enrolled in school. He said approximately 4.6 million South Africans have post-school qualifications compared to the 1.5 million prior to 1996, when the first census was conducted.
“We must consider just how far we have come from an era where the educational prospects of young black men and women were greatly diminished, and where the inferior education they received was deliberately designed to prepare them to be “hewers of wood and drawers of water.” Through various initiatives like the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), Early Childhood Development (ECD), the SAFE school’s sanitation programme and the Second Chance programme for matriculants, we are working to ensure that the constitutionally guaranteed right to quality education for all, is achieved,” said Ramaphosa.
According to Motshekga, the implementations of the social justice principles have also contributed to improving the country’s education for the past 30 years. There have not been a lot of learners who repeat grades and even when there are instances of repeats, learners are still encouraged to go back to school.
The Democracy Development Programme (DDP), a non-profit organisation which aims to deepen the practice of democracy in South Africa, has described the three decades as a significant shift that set aside racial segregation and acceptance of multiracial democracy. The organisation says despite the growth and positive change in the country’s education, education is not equal.
“While significant strides have been made in expanding access to education since the end of apartheid, the quality of education remains uneven, and many schools lack basic infrastructure and resources. Educational outcomes continue to be influenced by socio-economic factors, perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality,” it said in a statement.
Hendrick Makaneta, an analyst on matters of education, agrees with the above statement, but he balanced his opinion by stating that although there have been challenges in the education sector, there have also been successful initiatives that benefit learners.
“Equality in education only exists on paper and not in reality. There is still a huge gap between learners from township schools and those from schools in suburbs in terms of quality and infrastructure. It is common cause that pit latrines have cost lives of innocent pupils, and such pit latrines are found in rural schools. However, on the other hand, we must applaud the government for introducing the school nutrition program which has benefited millions of children ever since its inception,” Mokanete said. Motshekga said the sector is committed to confront and deal with the challenges that are still faced and that by 2030, South Africans should have access to education and training of the highest quality.