President Zuma not fit to serve on UN Educational Panel

Given the destruction of the South African school system under President Jacob Zuma's government, the DA believes that he is not fit to serve on the panel of the United Nations Secretary General Education First Initiative.

The education panel is mandated to achieve ‘quality, relevant and inclusive education for all'. The appointment is ironic, given that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) revealed in a recent briefing on Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals in South Africa that it is unlikely to achieve its quality targets.

The President has overseen a crumbling education system, characterised by failures to deliver on the right to basic education. Recent failures include:

The Limpopo textbook crisis

Learners in Limpopo went without textbooks for over half a year and a court of law held that the government was infringing on the basic human rights of its learners.

The President has been in possession of the Presidential Task Team report for approximately two months and is yet to hold those responsible to account in a move seen to protect his political allies at the cost of a quality education.

Rampant teacher vacancies

The President Zuma led government is currently facing court action to compel the filling of 64 752 teacher vacancies in the Eastern Cape. There is no plan in place to address teacher shortages.

Lack of basic education infrastructure

Learners are without basic education facilities with 22 938 schools not having stocked libraries, 21 021 not having any laboratory facilities and 19 037 not having computer centres.

Dismal quality of education

In the recent World Economic Forum Global Competiveness Report 2012-2013, South Africa placed 140 out of 144 countries on the quality of the educational system indicator.

High repeater rate

Last year 1,231,083 learners had to repeat their grades. 

Failure to educate the majority of learners effectively

Only 38% of all students that began grade 2 in 2001 passed matric in 2011.

The only value President Zuma could possibly add to the education panel is to show the rest of the world how not to manage their education systems.

Statement issued by Annette Lovemore MP, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, September 26 2012

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter