Our democratic government spends a lot of money on education. Yet the quality of our education is very low. In other words, we are not getting value for our money. According to various experts, this is partly because the government is throwing money at the problem.
There is a strong view – supported by many – that education is important. The fact that a major chunk of the government budget goes to education attests to that. And also that many want to go to university to get a degree, supports the above.
That said, whilst government spends a lot of money on education, it doesn’t seem to value it. For instance, it puts unqualified people in strategic positions that require a master’s degree. What message is it sending to the world?
A typical example of the above is Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the SABC’s suspended COO. The man has no matric, yet Hlaudi holds a very senior position at the public broadcaster. This is because he is a member of the governing party and is close to powerful political leaders.
In other words, for a person to hold a senior position in government, he or she needs to be politically aligned or politically connected. This is the reason why many black professionals don’t want to serve as public servants. Can you blame them?
For as long as this country doesn’t value education and only pay lip service to it, we won’t live up to our potential as a nation. It’s time that our democratically elected government recognises skill and stop employing people on the basis of political affiliation. But I’m not holding my breath.
