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THE FACTS
South Africa has 12 million learners, 366 000 teachers and around 28 000 schools - including 390 special needs schools and 1 000 registered private schools. Of all the schools, 6 000 are high schools (grade 7 to grade 12) and the rest are primary (grade 1 to grade 6).
School life spans 13 years - or grades - although the first year of education, grade 0 or "reception year", and the last three years, grade 10, 11 and grade 12 or "matric" are not compulsory. Many primary schools offer grade 0, although this pre-school year may also be completed at nursery school.
For university entrance, a matric "endorsement" is required (a minimum of three subjects passed at the higher, rather than standard, grade), although some universities do set their own additional academic requirements. A standard school-leaving South African senior certificate is sufficient for technikon or technical college study.
South Africa has a vibrant higher education sector, with more than a million students enrolled in the country’s 21 public universities, 15 technikons and many colleges. All the universities and technikons are autonomous, reporting to their own councils rather than government.
Many of our universities are world-class academic institutions, at the cutting edge of research in certain spheres. There are also a growing number of private higher education institutions.
THE BUDGET
Compared with most other countries, education gets a really big slice of the pie - usually at least 20% of the total budget. This year education received R59.7-billion, amounting to 24% of non-interest expenditure. Although it sounds like a lot, it never seems to be enough to go around. Next year the education budget is expected to increase by 8.5%, with most of the additional funds to be ploughed into the provinces.
More money is always needed to address the terrible backlogs left by 40 years of apartheid education, where money was pumped into white education at the expense of black schools in the townships and rural areas.
In 1976, in what came to be known as the Soweto Uprising, thousands of scholars protested against conditions in their schools, sowing the seeds for a popular resistance movement which ultimately contributed to the downfall of the apartheid government.
Although today's government is intent on rectifying the imbalances in education, the apartheid legacy lingers on. The greatest challenges lie in the poorer, rural provinces like the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. In the more affluent provinces like Gauteng and the Western Cape, schools are generally better resourced.
Current areas of priority include early childhood development - left off the government's agenda in recent years - HIV-Aids awareness programmes in schools, and adult basic education and training.
Many of the financial problems facing the sector stem from the failure of some provinces to manage their spending properly, but steps have been taken to rectify this.
by Philippa Garson
http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/education/education.htm
South Africa has 12 million learners, 366 000 teachers and around 28 000 schools - including 390 special needs schools and 1 000 registered private schools. Of all the schools, 6 000 are high schools (grade 7 to grade 12) and the rest are primary (grade 1 to grade 6).
School life spans 13 years - or grades - although the first year of education, grade 0 or "reception year", and the last three years, grade 10, 11 and grade 12 or "matric" are not compulsory. Many primary schools offer grade 0, although this pre-school year may also be completed at nursery school.
For university entrance, a matric "endorsement" is required (a minimum of three subjects passed at the higher, rather than standard, grade), although some universities do set their own additional academic requirements. A standard school-leaving South African senior certificate is sufficient for technikon or technical college study.
South Africa has a vibrant higher education sector, with more than a million students enrolled in the country’s 21 public universities, 15 technikons and many colleges. All the universities and technikons are autonomous, reporting to their own councils rather than government.
Many of our universities are world-class academic institutions, at the cutting edge of research in certain spheres. There are also a growing number of private higher education institutions.
THE BUDGET
Compared with most other countries, education gets a really big slice of the pie - usually at least 20% of the total budget. This year education received R59.7-billion, amounting to 24% of non-interest expenditure. Although it sounds like a lot, it never seems to be enough to go around. Next year the education budget is expected to increase by 8.5%, with most of the additional funds to be ploughed into the provinces.
More money is always needed to address the terrible backlogs left by 40 years of apartheid education, where money was pumped into white education at the expense of black schools in the townships and rural areas.
In 1976, in what came to be known as the Soweto Uprising, thousands of scholars protested against conditions in their schools, sowing the seeds for a popular resistance movement which ultimately contributed to the downfall of the apartheid government.
Although today's government is intent on rectifying the imbalances in education, the apartheid legacy lingers on. The greatest challenges lie in the poorer, rural provinces like the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. In the more affluent provinces like Gauteng and the Western Cape, schools are generally better resourced.
Current areas of priority include early childhood development - left off the government's agenda in recent years - HIV-Aids awareness programmes in schools, and adult basic education and training.
Many of the financial problems facing the sector stem from the failure of some provinces to manage their spending properly, but steps have been taken to rectify this.
by Philippa Garson
http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/education/education.htm
igel - 12. Dez, 17:22
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