No, Prof Tomlinson, SA’s basic education system is not in ruins, it’s on the rise

"These are the ruins of our education system. Let us call it what it is. The South African education system is in ruins. Centuries of colonisation and apartheid ensured this ruination. And I would contend that a singular lack of imagination and vision since 1994 has ensured we have remained mostly stagnant." This is one part of Professor Tomlinson's opinion piece that has struck a chord with my line of thought. Having grown up in a township and attended one of the most prestigious schools in SA (I started high school just as the Model C system came online) means that I straddled the fence. I've experienced the vast disparities at the coalface. There is no doubt that the post-colonial and Apartheid era education system needed dismantling, but the ANC approach to that dismantling was an extension of their blinkered approach to ripping apart anything that had 'White South Africa' as part of its history. There was a lot that was right about the 'White education system' at the time. The '...singular lack of imagination and vision since 1994 has ensured we have remained mostly stagnant' is a major part of the problem we face today. And I disagree with the Professor, we have not remained stagnant, we have regressed terribly. Not taking what was right about 'White education' and re-engineering it appropriately to take the Bantu education system and throw it in the bin is the imaginative element of the required solution.

One of the things that one rejects with the contempt it deserves is that our basic education is very poor. I find this argument as complete rubbish when one compares what the science education syllabus is about. As a person who has done mathematics in matric I have seen with my own children the difference between the syllabus one did under Bantu education and now. In mathematics we only met differential calculus, statistics, mathematics of finance at university. This goes for mathematical literacy that has statistics and other elements that in my view are enough for the university admission for accounting. The lies the DA, Maimane and Tomlison peddle are having no basis in fact in terms of the pass requirements. You need to look at the admission requirements of our universities that debunk these lies that repeated by these plumbers with regularity. In fact during our times you would meet information technology at university level but children are taught CAT at high school level and this enables them to reach tertiary education being computer literate. In my view the current matriculants are employable than we were as school leavers. The only thing is to ensure that we have the requisite science teachers as the Investec CSI has shown in its commendable programme. People have to really provide a comparative analysis of the syllabi and say what is poor about our basic education. There are problems in our education system but not standards. I can show the clowns concretely.

Was this written by AI?

I’m afraid the minister’s reply actually makes the picture worse by refusing to accept reality. - He did not “suggest a more favourable past for South Africa’s education”, he literally said “Centuries of colonisation and apartheid ensured this ruination“ - It’s great more children are going to school. I don’t recall anyone saying this was a bad thing. His article makes the point that what they learn when they get there is internationally sub-standard, inadequate for the modern world and going backwards. - The selective choice of statistics is revealing. The rapid improvement in TIMSS still has SA still in the bottom 3! Lastly, the minister’s credibility collapsed when she - or more likely her staff - write, “87% now have proper toilets, 81% have access to running water, and 93% have electricity” Did she really write this and consider it an achievement worth shouting about? There is no better illustration of the ANC’s educational myopia than they are proud that after 30 years c. 3,000 schools have pit latrines & more than 4,000 have no access to running water. It is impossible to read the rest of the article and believe anything is positive once this comment has been digested.

As a so called "professional" employing people from those with no real or meaningful education, to those with a Dr. in front of their name, I can sadly attest to the across the board failure of the education system in this country. Over the years as employees with a pre 1990's education retired from work, to the present day post 2000 graduates, I have noted an alarming inability of young people, with a supposed matric qualification, to comprehend simple functional instructions or to do simple arithmetic calculations or to understand very basic numeracy. But if you need to know only 30% of a subject to pass what more can be expected? South African education is a failure, and under its present control by an ANC government and a highly politicized trade union controlled force of school teachers, there is no hope for any real improvement. Despite Motshekga's claims, I would say that even Bantu Education, for all its badness, graduated people who were worthy of the piece of paper. Today's paper handed out by Motshekga is really worthless. She, despite stating from the outset that quality vs. quantity was the issue she has gone on to show the reader that it is all about numbers passing through the system, and not an iota about what students actually learn and are capable of doing with the worthless certificate Motshekga and Co. have presented the poor kid. Now this high school graduate is in university learning to be an accountant or medical doctor or school teacher and has no basic knowledge but only needs 30% to "pass"....that's why the ANC sends its sick comrades to Mother Russia for medical attention, the ANC is bankrupt, and the ANC education is in a downward spiral...... ABANC.

Whatever we think of Ms Motshekga article, she should be given a credit for responding to the criticism. An extremely rare event among politicians. Most of her colleagues couldn't give a hoot what people think and happily continue to live mushroom existence in the dark content in knowledge that the plebs think them to be demigods.

I have just one question for Ms Motshekga. Do your children and grandchildren attend government run schools?

I am in fits.......you are just like Naledi Pandor and great big T..d!

Nonsense, Angie (or whoever wrote this drivel for you), utter nonsense! Please invite me for a cup of tea.

I looked at the Medium-Term Strategic Framework and the Action Plan to 2030: Towards the Realisation of Schooling, 2030 (as reference in the article) and I looked at the Basic Education Law Amendment Bill. It appears as if they are each trying to meet different objections. For instance the framework says 'create a better school environment to improve student retention'; while the BELA Bill threatens increased fine or imprisonment for parents (higher than several other countries) whose children aren't attending? If the BELA Bill is passed then how will we know if the increased student retention is a result of forced fear or improved environment conditions. What about the clauses in the Bela Bill which refer to the closing of small & non viable schools resulting in children (many of underprivileged communities) having to travel further distances to get to a school. I would love to see a document showing how the approval of the BELA Bill supports the framework objectives. These framework objectives are just good intentions, there is no penalty if they aren't achieved (maybe just a frown and a let's try again); but laws are long lasting and have severe penalties.