The strong legacy of apartheid and the consequent
correlation between education and wealth have meant
that, generally speaking, poorer learners in South Africa
perform worse academically. Although racial segregation has
been abolished for 20 years, schools which served predominantly
White learners under apartheid remain functional (although now
racially mixed), while the vast majority of those which served Black
learners remain dysfunctional and unable to impart the necessary
numeracy and literacy skills to learners.
The poor quality of education that learners receive helps drive
an intergenerational cycle of poverty where children inherit the
social standing of their parents or caregivers, irrespective of their
own abilities or effort. Recent assessments show that over the past
decade there has been some progress at the grade 9 level, yet
performance levels remain extraordinarily low.
This essay provides an overview of educational outcomes in
South Africa and discusses school drop-out rates and learning
deficits in mathematics. Using this information, it shows the
links between the education system and the labour market and
illustrates how low-quality education becomes a poverty trap for
the majority of learners in South Africa.
The essay addresses the following questions:
• What is the current level of learner achievement in South Africa?
• When do inequalities in learning outcomes begin?
• How many learners drop out of school?
• Why do learners drop out?
• What are the links between education and the labour market?
• What new policy options might address this situation?