Elections 2024: Pass or fail? What you need to know about parties’ education promises

With the 29 May elections approaching, voters need to sift through political parties’ campaign rhetoric to separate promises from the practical solutions which could truly transform the country’s education system from a culture of passing grades to one of achievement and global competitiveness.

This is according to Dr Corrin Varady, CEO of edu-tech platform IDEA.

Varady says that although some proposed education policies sound promising on paper, a closer look reveals impracticalities for their execution at school, teacher or learner level.

Education policies: Campaign rhetoric or a roadmap for reform?

With this in mind, Varady has identified the strengths and weaknesses of each political party’s manifesto to assist in navigating some of the more practical concepts.

Digital learning crosses the political divide

Across the board, political parties seem to be recognising the need for digital learning as part of their policies.

Varady weighed in by saying that beyond its cost-effectiveness and potential to democratise access to quality education, digital learning can be used to execute a number of the solutions proposed in the various manifestos, such as mother-tongue or bilingual instruction and reducing student-to-teacher ratios.

Policing vs empowering teachers

The Democratic Alliance (DA), RISE Mzansi, and Patriotic Alliance (PA) have called for improved teacher training, proposing mandatory competence testing for teachers, and reinstating school inspectors to address ineffectiveness.

Varady, however, reckons this is an “unfair and unrealistic policing approach” that will add more fuel to the current “teacher shortage fire”.

“Research shows that entry-level graduate teachers’ pedagogy is not the problem. We must engage educators to further understand what their professional and personal needs are,” he said.

According to Varady, educators should be incentivised to “achieve, innovate and pursue life-long learning”.

“This approach could aid in attracting more teachers into the workforce which is a critical concern particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects,” the CEO explained.

Education culture revamp: Equip teachers with the necessary skills

Varady pointed out that South Africa needs to shift from an education culture that sees crisis as the only priority to one where achievement is the prime concern.

According to him, this would require eschewing unenforced and impractical Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes and developing a more comprehensive and supportive approach to teacher training.

“Perhaps the solution for producing more and better teachers, as well as for repairing the disconnect between theory and practice, lies in reopening teacher training colleges as suggested by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and United Democratic Movement (UDM),” he said.

Varady also emphasised that increasing access to professional development for teachers is as important as increasing access to schools for learners.

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Tech an integral part of education reform: Empower teachers with digital resources

“Government needs to empower educators with digital resources that could help them in their professional journeys and with content mastery.

“This could prove particularly useful in STEM subjects which have been highlighted as critical for the future by parties such as the African National Congress (ANC), Build One South Africa (BOSA), and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP).”

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EFF promises to build high-tech teacher training colleges

Varady said only the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has explicitly recognised that if we are to incorporate digital learning in our education system, we need to ensure that our teachers are geared up to do so.

“They aim to build high-tech teacher training colleges to equip educators of the future with adequate technological skills to impart to learners.”

Curriculum reform for the future 

What do political partners offer as a long-term vision for the country’s education reform?

• The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) propose to align education with business needs and those of our economy.
• ActionSA takes this a step further by advocating for education to be orientated towards global skills requirements, along with international educational trends and technologies.

“These proposals will help to ensure that we have learners who can compete not only in the region, but in the increasingly tech-focused and digitally driven world,” Varady commented.

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Repealing the 30% pass mark

BOSA and ACDP have proposed that the 30% pass mark should be revoked, with the IFP seeking to raise the pass mark to 50%.

As it currently stands, for a learner to gain admission to a Bachelor programme at one of the country’s universities, they must attain a minimum of 50% in four subjects and a minimum of 40% to enter a diploma programme.

The IDEA CEO argued that raising the pass mark could not only see more school leavers pursuing vocational, job readiness or tertiary education but could also potentially help to increase their employability.

Is matric the end of the road as we know it? 

The ANC and DA suggest a move away from the matric “be-all, end-all” approach with the proposal of curriculum diversification to include more vocational and technical subjects.

Varady, however, warned that this could lead to an increased dropout rate from the formal education system and a surplus of graduates for a limited number of vocational jobs.

“A solution lies in parallel programmes that supplement basic education, exposing learners to different career opportunities without jeopardising their core academic foundation,” he said.

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How will a coalition government impact education policy?

“Considering these points, and with the likelihood of a coalition government, we must ensure that the parties we put into power are on the same page when it comes to reforms, and not just on the need for better education for all which is not enough anymore,” Varady pointed out.

“We, as voters, have to be careful that political parties are not just selling us a dream and can deliver on their promises. Let’s hold our elected officials accountable for delivering real educational reform,” he concluded.