Education Brief for SACBC Administration Board
5 May 2015
This brief offers a snapshot of current education issues in South Africa.
1.1 Number of Children in South Africa
No. of Children in SA
18.6 million
No. in schools
Not receiving an
education
Drop-out rate
12.4 million
6.2 million
56 % live in extreme poverty
11.1 million receive child care
grant
7-15 years of age
0-7 years
26%
In last 3 years of schooling
1.2 Education Statistics
No. of public schools
Pupils in public schools
Teachers in public schools
24 255
11 923 681 (96%)
392 377
Teacher vacancies
No. of independent schools
68 000 (estimate)
1 544 (4 %)
Pupils in independent
schools
Teachers in independent
schools
495 388
This figure is disputed as
being too low
32 495
1.3 Catholic School Statistics
No. of schools
No. of Public Schools on Private Property
No. of Independent schools
No. of teachers
No. of other staff
No. of boys
No. of girls
Total no. of learners
Catholic
Black learners
White learners
347
246
101
8 402
2 996
83 484
96 294
179 778
24%
92%
8%
As noted above 6.2 million children from 0-7 are not in school. A statistic which we do not have is the number
of Early Learning Centres in parishes. This is an important part of the education mission of the Church and
needs research:



Are these merely crèches or are children receiving adequate stimulation and skills?
How safe are these centres?
Are the children safe from physical harm both in terms of a safe building/ toilets etc and from corporal
punishment?
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
Do the care-givers have any early childhood development training?
To conduct a survey would require a fairly substantial budget.
While the Catholic sector is small there is no other unified group of a similar size. The Catholic sector is also
unique in that it embraces both public and independent schools. It is interesting to note the Anglican Church
has recently formed an Anglican Board of Education (ABE) with the stated purpose of unifying their schools
and opening new schools (in existing buildings) in order to serve those most in need of quality education. At
the launch the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town noted that the Catholics had been more successful than
they had in maintaining their schools in the face of Bantu education.
Independent schools are being touted as the answer to poor state education not only in SA but all over the
world. This is largely proposed by neo-liberal economists and for-profit education enterprises. The danger
inherent in this approach is that it leads to commodification of schooling and cannot possibly meet the needs of
the majority of poor children.
1.4 Education Economics
2015 saw the first austerity budget since 1994. R203.5 billion was allocated to education in 2015 which was a
decline from16.79 % of the total budget to 16.69% year on year. In Rand terms education received R1.7 billion
less than if the proportions had remained the same as last year. It is important to note that in 2009 the
education share was 18% of the budget which means the education budget, while growing above inflation, is
actually R18.2 billion lower than it should be if the 2009 levels of commitment had been maintained.
2. Societal Issues
While it may seem obvious to say that societal challenges influence schools these challenges have a profound
effect, seriously hampering schools’ ability to provide quality education in a safe and conducive climate. Some
of these are:
Poverty
Adolescent HIV
Violence
Societal Issues
Youth
Unemployment
Teenage
pregnancy
Child headed
households
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2.1 Poverty
Poverty and its consequences are undoubtedly the greatest challenge facing our country. We cannot separate
poverty from economic growth. South Africa’s economy has not grown sufficiently to overcome the decades of
social and economic discrimination against black South Africans which has left a legacy of income inequality
along racial lines. Children are the most vulnerable in the poverty continuum.
The following table outlines children living in poverty per province comparing 2003 and 2012 statistics. One
can see the positive impact the Child Care Grant has had on children, although the reduction in the three
highest provinces, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal is not as good as it should be.
Figure 2a: Children living in income poverty, by province, 2003 & 2012
(“Lower bound” poverty line: Households with monthly per capita income less than R635, in 2012 Rands)
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Proportion of children (%)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
EC
FS
GT
KZN
LP
MP
NW
NC
WC
SA
2003
87.0%
2,581,000
77.9%
857,000
51.9%
1,526,000
78.8%
3,344,000
88.8%
2,183,000
78.6%
1,202,000
77.4%
977,000
73.0%
316,000
46.7%
776,000
74.0%
13,760,000
2012
72.4%
1,951,000
55.2%
511,000
33.9%
1,196,000
65.0%
2,648,000
70.8%
1,578,000
62.4%
972,000
59.4%
756,000
53.4%
223,000
27.4%
512,000
55.7%
10,347,000
Source: Statistics South Africa (2003; 2013) General Household Survey 2002; General Household Survey 2012. Pretoria: Stats SA.
Analysis by Katharine Hall & Winnie Sambu, Children’s Institute, UCT.
Amongst the 18.6 million children, 56% live in households experiencing extreme poverty and 11.1 million
receive a child support grant from the state. The existence of small government grants and no fee school
policies provide the conditions for 97% attendance in schools. As shown in 1.1 above there are significant
problems with the numbers which affects the overall understanding of how many children should be enrolled
and how many should complete.
Despite government grants and no-fee school policies, the conditions of living in poverty present significant
barriers to learning. Importantly most children from poor households will not receive basic early childhood
services severely disadvantaging them as compared with children who are prepared for school at age 7.
Furthermore 3.3 million children experience hunger and a staggering 69% of children suffer from severe
Vitamin A deficiency in the 1-9 age group. With poor nutrition and hunger in extreme cases, children are not
able to develop the cognitive or basic motor skills necessary to make the education enterprise successful.
2.2 Child-headed Households
A child-headed household is defined as one where all members are under the age of 18 years. In South Africa
0.67% of children live in such households which translates into 122 000 children out of 18.2 million children. In
20 surveys from 2000 -2007 no increase was found in the number of child-headed households which went
against predictions that these would dramatically increase. Only 8% of children in child-headed households
had lost both parents with 80% having a living mother. Some of these children are living in towns to go to
school or whose parent or parents are working away.44% of child-headed households were made up of only
one child. 55% being 14 years or older and in 88% of these households at least one child is 15 or older. 90%
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of child-headed households are in Limpopo, KZN and the Eastern Cape. While it may be hopeful that these did
not increase as predicted 122 000 children is still a very large number of extremely vulnerable children.
2.3 Violence
Children also experience high levels of trauma related to violence in communities and at school. Despite the
abolition of corporal punishment in 1994 in schools, 13.5% of children report cases of corporal punishment.
Coupled with high levels of violence in society, in 2014 there were 2.5 million total crimes in South Africa
including 2617 cases of serious neglect and ill treatment of children. These statistics are for reported crimes
that are successfully investigated and end in courts and are agreed to be lower than the actual level of crime in
the country and they paint a picture of an environment where children are likely to have lived in a home that
has been burgled, witnessed a violent crime or been victims of a crime. There are virtually no counselling
services for children who experience crime that can receive mention. While there are NGOs like Child Line
which work on protecting children rights, the lack of counselling services for children means that many socalled lesser crimes and the impact these have on children are not dealt with. It is mandatory for all Catholic
schools to adopt a Child Safeguarding Policy and to implement this. Pastoral Care is key to a good Catholic
school and schools are assisted to provide good pastoral care in all regions where CIE works.
The following graphic illustrates the continuum of violence experienced by children and adolescents:
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Within schools the most serious challenges are corporal punishment, bullying and abuse. Preventative
interventions can include parent formation, ending corporal punishment, implementing and monitoring Child
Safeguarding Policies and Procedures as well as offering programmes to schools such as the Building
Peaceful Catholic Schools Programme. Education around Gender and Xenophobia is also of critical
importance
2.4 HIV and Aids and Teenage Pregnancy
While we have seen a reduction in the number of HIV positive people the only group that has increased is the
teenage group. Adolescent HIV and 760 000 children born with HIV who are now eligible for anti-retroviral
treatment (ARV) continue to make HIV a serious challenge. Children born with HIV who have been on antiretroviral treatment often face major cognitive challenges at school and this challenges the capacity of the state
to provide for children with special needs even further.
Teenage pregnancy numbers are also a matter of grave concern (26%). Age disparate relationships (where a
man is 5 years or more older than the woman) are a major contributing factor as are forced sex and
transactional sex – which is described as ‘sex for food’ by some researchers.
Schools can address these issues with adequate and positive sexuality education, school feeding, especially
for learners on ARVs, genuine free education and teacher support and counseling. The government is
currently implementing the Integrated School Health Plan, which includes screening for TB and HIV.
A further societal challenge which impacts on both teenage pregnancy and HIV is substance-abuse which is
making serious inroads into the life of schools.
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3. Issues in Schools
Curriculum
change & lack
of resources
Teacher
competency
Alcohol & drug
abuse
Issues in schools
Early
Childhood
Developemnt
Teacher
absenteeism
Learning
difficulties
We hear very little positive news of teachers in South Africa. They are labeled lazy, cruel, absent and ignorant.
The industrial model of teaching with Union (SADTU) interference at all levels of the system is regarded as a
major weakness in South Africa. Appointments are interfered with which is a serious concern for Catholic
Public Schools on Private Property. A recently leaked National Education Evaluation and Development Unit
report, which had been embargoed by the Department of Basic Education, gave a damning picture of in excess
teachers leading to unsustainable teacher salary bills which leaves little or no money for school maintenance.
Cronyism is rife, leading to the appointment of subject advisors who have less knowledge and experience than
the teachers they are supposed to support.
While this may be the case in some areas the number of teachers qualifying is insufficient for future needs. In
November 4600 teachers resigned while the aim to have 14000 qualified teachers emerge from universities at
the end of 2014 has not materialized.
In South Africa schools are classified into Quintiles. Quintiles 1 to 3 are no-fee schools and serve the most
needy while quintiles 4 and 5 charge fees. Quintile 5 schools are usually the ex-Model C schools. The gap in
educational results between Quintile 5 schools and the rest is highlighted in all tests and the Annual National
Assessments.
Teachers have faced numerous changes to the curriculum and are suffering from change fatigue. In addition
studies demonstrate inadequate subject knowledge and teaching ability. The following table shows the
average percentage correct on all 42 items in the Southern and East African Consortium for Monitoring
Education Quality ( SACMEQ) 2007 mathematics teacher test by quintile of school socioeconomic status and
school location (corrected for guessing) [401 Gr6 maths teachers]
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In spite of spending proportionally more on education than its neighbours and in relation to other developing
countries, South Africa continues to perform poorly.
In the SACMEQ reading tests for Grade 6, South Africa’s children performed very poorly. We were in 10th
position out of 15 - below Swaziland and Zimbabwe, but above Mozambique and Uganda. And in the Trends
in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMMS) Mathematics, we came 43 of 45 (27 non-rich
countries) in Grade 9. We were below Botswana but above Ghana and Honduras.
The National School Effectiveness Study followed about 15000 students (266 schools) and tested them in
Grade 3 (2007), Grade 4 (2008) and Grade 5 (2009) with the following question.
Our government is tracking achievement by the Annual National Assessments (ANAs). This type of testing is
highly controversial in the world as teachers then tend to teach only to the test and the wider and richer
elements of learning are lost. Our teachers are being closely monitored – they have workbooks and pacesetters to check whether they are at the correct place for the week. Teachers complain that they are forced to
move on even when children do not understand or have not grasped the concepts. In the 2014 ANAs the
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Grade 9 Mathematics results proved shocking with a national average of 10.8%. Only the top 16% of grade 3
students are performing at a Grade 3 level.
Language is a major contributor to poor reading. Children are supposed to learn in mother tongue until Grade 3
and then English (and Afrikaans in some schools) becomes the language of teaching and learning. Given that
many teachers are not competent in English themselves it is not surprising that children are struggling.
The following table expands on causes for non-participation and/or success at school.
South Africa tends to measure its system by the National Senior Certificate (Matric) results. 48% of children
who began school in 2003 wrote the NSC in 2014 and of these only 36% of these passed. Of the 28% of those
who obtained bachelor passes only 15% were from the 30% of schools serving the poorest communities.
Catholic schools are beacons of hope when it comes to the NSC results.
4. Unemployed and under-educated young people
While South Africa has achieved almost universal school enrollment in primary school, as aimed for in
Education for All, this does not translate into children finishing school. Out of 100 children who started school in
2002, 49 did not reach Grade 12, 11 failed Grade 12, 24 passed and 16 achieved a university endorsement.
This means that 550 000 dropped out and did not achieve any other form of education, adding to the 50%
unemployed and unskilled youth. But what about the young people who dropped out? Unskilled youth and
unemployed youth are perhaps the most serious of all problems discussed today. This large drop-out from
schools is linked to poor success at school AND a lack of alternate curricula. A 2013 report of the Department
of Basic Education showed that nearly 60% of learners leave school with no qualification beyond Grade 9.
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The following table highlights startling statistics about semi-skilled and low-skilled Black Africans. There were
more semi-skilled 15- 34 year olds in 2014 than in 1994.
Church skills centres try really hard to make a difference in young peoples’ lives. CIE Thabiso Skills Institute
currently serves 27 Skills centres. Seven of these are registered as Public Adult Learning Centres and 12 are
accredited with SETAs. The bureaucracy involved in assisting these centres to get courses accredited is
frustrating. A White Paper currently in process requires work place experience before young people can
receive a qualification. It is very difficult for young people to access work place experience and as a result
Thabiso Skills staff are actively lobbying for this to be removed from the Bill.
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5. Government and Community Relationships
Developing sound relationships with both the Basic and Higher Education Departments is essential for our
schools, especially with regard to their ‘distinctive Catholic character’. Advocacy has to take place at national
and provincial level, with district officials and with school staff and parents.
CIE has established a good working relationship with the DBE departments and liaises with other SACBC
bodies such as The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office and with other education NGOs and associations
such as the National Alliance of Independent Schools Associations (NAISA), which meets twice a year with
DBE officials.
CIE also assists individual school owners with specific problems and local Catholic Schools Offices on request.
The implementation of the Deed of Agreement needs constant and consistent advocacy. There is a serious
threat to many of our schools through both departmental and school level ignorance and even obstruction.
6. Challenges faced by the Church and Owners
The context outlined in this paper begs the question of how is the Church to respond to the crisis. The vast
majority of Catholic children attend normal public schools not Catholic schools and there are thousands of
Catholic teachers in the state system. What of these children?
Is it time for the Church to reimagine and recommit to Catholic schools in South Africa? In 1953 when the
Bantu Education Act was passed the Church raised one million pounds to keep Catholic schools going. The
Vatican documents on Catholic education are a wonderful source of inspiration as is Africae Munnus. The new
document EDUCATING TODAY AND TOMORROW - A Renewing Passion, is to be finalised in November and
has much to say about Catholic schools in this time. Schools struggle to find adequately trained Religious
Education teachers in both public and independent Catholic schools. While the National Religious Education
Department works hard to fulfill its mandate it is becoming increasingly difficult to raise funds to support their
work. This seriously constrains a key aspect of Catholic School education.
Some further ideas:





Reinvest in existing Catholic schools, particularly with regards to maintenance. This will involve
continuing to hold provincial department to account as per the Deed of Agreement.
Parenting programmes in parishes.
Supporting and encouraging the vocation of teachers – affirming and supporting them.
Establishing reading clubs in parishes.
Homework help from unemployed youth with teacher supervision.
In times of challenge it is important to remember our vision and hope. Most of our existing schools are such
places with some having visionary and dedicated leaders. Supporting them is for CIE a privilege and an
honour.
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