Gauteng’s two-tier education system keeps learners out of school

24 October 2017

The Gauteng Department of Education has not made enough progress to raise the standard of education in township schools thereby perpetuating the two-tier system of education between the “haves and have-nots” in the province.

Despite increased efforts through the early online enrolment process this year to ensure that learners are placed in schools before the opening of the 2018 school year, 70 995 learners are still in limbo as to where they will find themselves in January.

Parents who can afford to send their children to more affluent schools will rather do so under crowded conditions than have their children placed at one of the numerous half empty township schools in the province.

Educational outcomes at these schools are often lower than more affluent schools and little has been done to increase the desirability of these institutions of learning.

This is due to political wrangling by SADTU, mismanagement of school assets, corruption and fraudulent activities that slip past the department’s watch.

Without the necessary interventions by the Department and strong leadership by Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi the cycle is bound to repeat itself year in and year out.

The MEC must make sure that these schools are assisted and that they are brought up to the same standard as other schools in the province. They must become institutions of excellence.

Failure to do so will continue to leave learners scrambling for placement in the new year and will not resolve the challenge of improving educational outcomes in the province’s township schools.

Issued by Khume Ramulifho, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Education, 24 October 2017