Back to basics
BY ELSKE JOUBERT
EDUCATION IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL IN LIFTING WOMEN – AND SOCIETY IN GENERAL – OUT OF POVERTY. IN A COUNTRY WHERE ECONOMIC GROWTH IS STUNTED AND UNEMPLOYMENT IS SOARING, WE NEED A SHIFT NOT ONLY IN THE SUBJECTS BEING TAUGHT AT OUR SCHOOLS, BUT ALSO THEIR SUBSTANCE. In their 2019 State of the Nation and Budget addresses, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni demonstrated that education is a key priority for the government moving forward. As such, the bulk of government spending has been allocated to this sector. Prudence Louw, Chief Information Officer at IDEA Digital Education, believes that this move is very promising as “it shows a commitment to South Africa’s youth at a time of extreme difficulty in the economy and the job market.” She believes that we must focus on the foundations of education rather than quick-fix solutions, looking at the pockets of excellence that exist in the country, modelling these and replicating them.
Our approach has historically been average – and often surface-level – access to short-course education. “We should be focusing on improving our fundamental literacy and numeracy proficiencies for school students and adult education. These are the necessary pillars for us to be able to explore more innovative, entrepreneurial avenues.” The South African education sector is still struggling to deliver. This is owing, in no small part, to the education system that existed during the apartheid years, says Leigh Johnson, Programme Designer: Open Enrolment at University of Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development (USB-ED).
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