Falsehoods and Scarecrow

Falsehoods and Scarecrows - fortifies Advocate Modidima Mannya’s misdiagnosis of the state of education in South Africa.

IN his latest self-seeking outburst (City Press, 24 January 2015) titled, “We need Education System 2.0,” a former civil servant, Advocate Modidima Mannya, jumps on the band wagon of one Prof Jonathan Jansen by joining the chorus of those who believe that the basic education landscape is in doldrums.

The critics, Advocate Mannya included posit that the battery of reforms since 1994 have been nothing but: “A recreational activity meant to keep the young ones occupied while their parents are at work.”

Of course, Advocate Mannya and his fellow travellers are entitled to their views: “But certainly not their own facts.”

There is an intellectual dictum that says: “Play the ball and not the man.” I will attempt at all times to keep up with this dictum although it is difficult in the face of falsehoods and scarecrows.

Advocate Mannya’s thesis is consistent with the anti-state posture adopted by many peace time revolutionaries. The official line in this anti-state posture pretends to observe another famous intellectuals’ dictum: “Speaking truth to power.” As always these self-appointed critics of the education reforms have one thing in common – “kismet prophesy.”

True to the tradition of the egoistic nature of peace time revolutionaries Advocate Mannya’s offers no concrete alternative in his anti-state tirade, especially against our education reforms which he holds in contempt.

For the benefit of non-educationists, let me explain that you can only appreciate or judge the progress of the transformation of the basic education sector or lack thereof using five internationally accepted benchmarks i.e. access, redress, equity, quality and efficiency.

New Policies

At the heart of the basic education sector transformation are such progressive policies as encapsulated in six white papers since 1995. These policies introduced a holistic new vision for education and training which promoted access to quality lifelong education and support for children and youth across the age spectrum in a seamless, integrated and inclusive education system. The new system “by design” embodies the values and ideals of our new democracy of equity, quality and lifelong learning.

The South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) and all its subsequent revisions embodied the measures for the practical implementation of the vision set out in the White Papers. The State has further committed to honouring its obligations in terms of several international statutes and conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ratified in 2007) to combat segregation, inequality and violation of human rights.

Access, Redress and Equity

Advocate Mannya, numbers don’t lie. As of 2015, the picture of basic education judged against international benchmark is as follows:

- the percentage of five year-olds attending educational institutions at Grade R is 87.2%;

- the Apparent Intake Rate (AIR) to Grade 1 is 101.4%;

- ‎the percentage of fourteen (14) to eighteen (18) year-olds attending educational institutions is 90.7%;

- the percentage of five (5) year-olds children with disabilities attending educational institutions is 83.9%;

- Seven (7) to fifteen (15) year-olds children with disabilities attending educational institutions is 93.4%;

- The number of learners who benefit from the National School Nutrition Programme is 9.2 million learners;

- The percentage of learners who benefit from pro-poor policy package, such as “no fee” schools is 80%.

According to Stats SA in 2002, there were 324 575 children out of school and by 2014 this was drastically reduced to 92 631. The number of children out of school has steadily declined since 2002, from 3.6% in 2002 to 1% in 2014. Over the same period of time there has been an increase in the percentage of 15 to 24 year old youth who have completed Grade 9 and above from 63.4% in 2002 to 78% in 2014.

Quality and Efficiency

There was a considerable improvement in the qualifications of educators, with the proportion of under-qualified educators reduced from 36% in 1994 to 5.6% in 2012. Educators have been redistributed, through redeployment and post provisioning strategies, to areas of greatest need. This has led to vast improvements in establishing more equitable learner: educator ratios, from an average of 47:1 in 1994 to 30:1 in 2012.

The Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) show improvements in the quality of education, surpassed by few in the developing world, though off a low base. In Mathematics, in 2002, the overall TIMMS results was 285, in 2011 the results have increased by 67 to 352. In Physical Science, the base result of 268 in 2002 has improved to 332 in 2011. The target for 2015 TIMMS is 361.

In an effort to improve quality in the system, the Annual National Assessments (ANA) were introduced in the General Education and Training (GET) band (Grades R-9), focussing on Languages and Mathematics. ANA is a diagnostic tool to gauge the extent to which the basic education system is impacting on the critical areas of numeracy and literacy and to help the sector to self-correct.

In the Foundation Phase targeted interventions by the Department have helped to achieve the goals that were set in the Action Plan 2014. This has been achieved in both Mathematics and Home Language. In Grade 6 there has been a large increase in the percentage of learners achieving acceptable achievement levels for both Mathematics and Home Language.

In the Intermediate Phase learners in Grade 6 are performing well in subjects taken as Home Languages and across all provinces the achievement level is above 50%. Overall, in Home Languages and Mathematics, there was more than 4% increase in the performance of learners.

In 2014, 7, 3 million Grades 1-9 learners in all public schools participated in ANA. While the ANA results of 2014 show an upward trend in most grades, efforts are still required towards realising the desired 60% threshold of learners mastering the minimum language and mathematics competencies by the end of Grades 3, 6 and 9 some improvement has been registered.

The results show that the system is responding to the unrelenting focus on underperformance and inefficiency within the system. Learner performance in Mathematics in the Senior Phase has been identified as an area of concern and therefore the Department has recently introduced the 1+4 Maths model to support teaching and learning. In order to ensure that Mathematics and Science is enhanced as a focal point in the Sector, a Maths, Science and Technology Directorate has recently been established at a National level.

We shall spare neither strength nor courage in dispelling the myth that the basic education sector is in the doldrums. As the ancient proverb goes: “Those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.” It is completely madness for Advocate Mannya to suggest that pressure on the social security system is a product of failing education system.

Bhekisisa Mncube is a Director of Writing Services at the Ministry of Basic Education. He writes in his personal capacity.