What is fuelling the flight of learners from township and rural schools? With education consuming over 6,5 percent of the national budget, making it the largest area of national expenditure for nearly a decade, hard questions need to be asked.
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The fact that the larger proportion of spending is, and has historically been, allocated to rural and township schools deepens the conundrum.
Trend
While it must be acknowledged that poor infrastructure such as pit latrines, lack of science laboratories and libraries persist in many provinces, as highlighted by NGOs such as Equal Education and Right to Know, it is clear that this is not the only driver for the trend we are seeing across the country.
The finger is pointing more in the direction of the management and outcomes (results) being produced by these schools.
Triumph
Many of us are familiar with the stories of successful professionals who were literally taught under trees, or who shared limited facilities in a ‘platoon system’, but triumphed over these physical limitations purely on the love and dedication their teachers.
Our history is littered with stories of immigrant communities setting up basic schooling infrastructure to provide their children with what they believed was the most important gift they could give: education.
Addressing the issues relating to the staff performance and management of rural and township schools should be a pressing priority for government.
Fast forward to today. Whenever the National Senior Certificate results are announced, there are always reports of schools in deep rural areas, or in impoverished townships producing astounding results that stand out from the crowd.
Poor discipline
Clearly the distinguishing factor must be the staff and management, who in the face of almost insurmountable challenges are able to extract the best from their charges.
A drive past many a peri-urban or township school will more than likely reveal gaggles of learners loitering outside the premises long after the first bell has gone.
Coupled with poor discipline, the high absenteeism amongst teachers and poor management of school facilities is resulting in parents voting with their feet and seeking better performing options.
Costs
That these decisions are always associated with higher costs (travelling and boarding) for the parents should be a real concern for the government.
Together with the underuse of newly-built school infrastructure, these costs are an unwanted and unneeded burden on our society.
Alas, given the stranglehold that the teacher unions have over the sector, we are unlikely to see any meaningful action soon.
After matriculating, Vijay Naidoo studied Economics in the UK. Upon his return, he joined the family construction business as MD for 10 years.
He subsequently joined his sister in their furniture manufacturing business as director for quality assurance and operations. He was responsible for all quality aspects of their products, and led the project to the business achieving an ISO 9000 quality accreditation. As an export focused business, this was important for our international competitiveness.
Mr Naidoo has an abiding interest in quality management and productivity improvement, particularly in manufacturing.
More recently, he has focused a lot of his time on giving back to the community by way of mentorship of small businesses and sitting on the executive of the South Coast Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on the Board of the Ugu South Coast Development Agency.
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