Oosthuizen, I.J., Van der Walt, J.L. (2023).

Obstacles on the way to

effective education in South Africa: A bird’s-eye view. In Oosthuizen,
I.L. Van der Walt, J.L. & Hove, L.M. Stumbling blocks on the way to
effective education in the Global South. ISBN 978-1-991239-18-1

CHAPTER 1
Obstacles on our way to effective
education in South Africa: A bird’s-eye
view
I J Oosthuizen
Research Fellow
Edu-HRight Research Focus Area
Faculty of Education
North-West University, South Africa

J L van der Walt

Research Fellow
Edu-HRight Research Focus Area
Faculty of Education
North-West University, South Africa

Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to offer a bird’s-eye view of the state
of education in South Africa. It commences with a discussion of
the difficulties surrounding the concept “effective education”, in
particular difficulties regarding the measurement of effectiveness.
After outlining a possible way of assessing the degree of
effectiveness of the education project in South Africa, the
discussion proceeds to an outline of a number of signs, symptoms,
and manifestations of non-effectiveness in the current system, and
subsequently to a discussion of the reasons for these
inadequacies, which can all be regarded as stumbling blocks on
the way to effective education. The chapter concludes with several
1
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suggestions, inspired partly by insights from complexity theory and

chaos theory.

Keywords: education, effective education, failure, education

system, complexity theory, chaos theory

1.1 Introductory remarks

The title of the book in which this chapter appears is Stumbling
blocks on the way to effective education in South Africa. Its title
implies that the book should attend to at least five key issues,
namely (a) what is meant by the term “education”; (b) what is
meant by the term “effective education”; (c) how we know whether
or not education, in a sense decided upon, is effective; (d) how its
effectiveness or ineffectiveness manifests itself in practice; and (e)
what the reasons could be for not achieving effectiveness, if that
should prove to be the case. We decided to devote this chapter to
these five issues since, in our opinion, it casts light on the signs,
symptoms and manifestations of ineffectiveness, thereby
clarifying the stumbling blocks on the way to effective education,
as dealt with by other authors in this book. It also provides readers
with a bird’s eye view of the state of education in South Africa.

1.2 Paving the way

1.2.1 The term “education”

The first issue that we need to attend to then, is: What is meant by
the term “education?” This is not a spurious question. The English
language uses this term to refer to both the upbringing of children
and young people in the broadest sense of the word (as in

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Afrikaans and Dutch opvoeding, and German Erziehung), and

also in the narrower meaning of teaching and learning, and
instruction (Afrikaans and Dutch onderrig, German Unterricht).
Azcona (2021: 1-2) correctly points out that education in the
broadest sense of the term is not mere training, but a “solid
construction of a particular concept of humanity … a resourceful
instrument to achieve actualized morality.” Education in this sense
is the formation of “a group of manual and intellectual habits that
are accomplished, and the moral qualities that are developed”
(Ibid.). For obvious reasons, for instance, the fact that this type of
education is informally provided by parents and caregivers, even
by older children in child-headed families, it would be very difficult,
if not impossible, to assess its effectiveness.

In our opinion, this is not the concept of “education” intended for

discussion in this book, but rather of “education” in the more
restricted sense of formal teaching and learning or instruction that
occurs in schools and that is managed by a state department of
education such as the South African Department of Basic
Education. The effectiveness of this form of education is more
assessable in that most of the activities in the teaching-learning
environment are constantly measured and assessed, and the
results thereof are quantified. For this reason, we concentrate on
education in the restricted sense of the term, namely the
effectiveness of teaching and learning as it occurs in formal
teaching-learning institutions such as schools and managed by
South Africa’s Department of Basic Education.

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1.2.2 The term “effective formal education”

Our study of the literature concerning the state of formal education
in South Africa has not established any objective criteria for what
can be regarded as “effective” education. Most of the “criteria” for
“effectiveness” in the literature are rather vague and elastic. The
following are two examples of this vagueness. Two commentators
remarked that even though education receives the biggest
allocation from the national budget (7 percent in 2023) “the yield
is far below expectations” (Prince, 2023b: 15), and not an
impressive “return on investment” (Beukman, 2023c: 10). Even
the criterion applied by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID: 2022) is elastic when it states that although
South Africa gives high priority to education in that it allocates
around 20 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to this item,
“it struggles to provide quality education in most of its schools.”

The norms pertaining to the concept “effective education’’ are,

among others, to be found in the preamble of the South African
Schools Act. Some of these norms include the provision of
education of progressively high quality for all our learners to “lay a
strong foundation for the development of all our people’s talents
and capabilities” and “the economic well-being of society” (SA,
1996). The statutory objectives contained in the Guidelines for
Governing Bodies for a Code of Conduct for Learners (SA, 1998)
refer to what could be understood under the term “education of a
high quality”, namely the creation or provision of “a disciplined and
purposeful environment (that facilitates) effective education and
learning,” by adopting a code of conduct for learners. The Code of
Professional Ethics for Educators is likewise directed at the
provision of effective teaching practices by emphasising the ideal

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of “excellence in education” (SACE:2000). Another way of

determining whether education is of good quality is to be aware of
obstacles that (tend to) derail the teaching and learning project.

As mentioned, it is often difficult to state in precise terms what is

meant by “effective” (in this particular case, with reference to
formal education). This difficulty is typical of the ancient Sorites
paradox, namely the seeming impossibility of determining when a
particular concept applies or not. British philosopher Julian
Baggini (2023: 54) recently explained this conundrum with
reference to the concept of “tallness.” We would normally regard
a person who has a body length of 200cm as “tall.” Would we still
do so if he were 199.9cm in height? Or if he were 194cm in height?
At what point do we begin to refer to a person as of medium
height? Or as short? Baggini (2023: 54-55) concludes: “The aporia
here is that it seems that there must be a difference between tall,
medium, and short, but when you try to find where that difference
lies, you can’t. The most plausible resolution of this, I think, is
simply to accept that words like ‘tall’ and ‘short’ are inherently
vague…The paradox arises because we are being asked to treat
the concept as though it had mathematical precision.” This is, in
our opinion, much the same situation with respect to “effective” in
“effective education.” At what point do we regard education as
“ineffective”? As will become clearer toward the end of this
chapter, there are so many complex factors involved in education
that it is difficult to circumscribe “effectiveness” in precise terms. It
is for this reason that we resort to the following line of reasoning.

The qualifier “effective” in the term “effective education”, taken at

the semantic field value, simply means that something has the
power to produce, that it is fit for duty or service, that it can produce

5
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the desired result, product, or consequence, that it can accomplish

that which it was intended for, that it can bring about a desired
result. The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘effective’ as “successful in
producing a desired or intended result” (Soanes & Stevenson,
2006: 554). Some of the vagueness in the criteria regarding formal
education in South Africa can be surmounted by simply asking
whether the system is able to accomplish that for which it was
instituted. This then begs the question: For what exactly was the
education system instituted? According to Article 29(1) of the
South African Constitution (1996), everyone “has the right to
education, including adult basic education” – without any quality
standards calibrated. According to Article 184(3) of the same Act,
the South African Human Rights Commission must require the
relevant organ of state (clearly a reference to the Department of
Basic Education) to provide the Commission with information on
the measures that it has taken toward the realisation of human
rights concerning education. This stipulation is an indication of the
gravity with which education is regarded in terms of the recognition
of human rights.

The South African Schools Act (Chapter 1 (iii)) states that the term
"education department" refers to “the department established by
section 7(2) of the Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation No. 103
of 1994), which is responsible for education in a province.”
Although the Preamble to the Act mentions norms and standards,
it is clear that these norms and standards only pertain to how
formal education (schools) in South Africa should be organised,
governed and funded. No norms or standards for educational
output or achievement are set in this Act. It is, in view of this
lacuna, difficult to decide – for instance – whether or not a 75 per

6
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cent pass rate in the Matriculation examination in a particular year

should be regarded as acceptable.

1.2.3 How do we know whether or not South African

education is effective?
It is in view of the general vagueness with respect to output norms
and standards that commentators on the state of education fall
back on either their own opinions about the strengths and
weaknesses of the achievements of the Department of Basic
Education, depend on the results of independent international
assessments, or on criteria such as whether the school system
prepares learners adequately for joining the country’s work force
(in terms of the unemployment rate). Because clear and precise
criteria for gauging whether or not South Africa’s educational effort
is effective are not available, commentators tend to concentrate
on the perceived failures of the system. These failures, as
perceived by commentators, tend to be regarded as indicators of
weak achievement, as we discuss later in this chapter.

1.2.4 Failures regarded as indicators of unsatisfactory

performance by education authorities
The indicators or symptoms of failure or inadequate achievement,
as outlined in (c), fall within various categories. We already
mentioned one, namely “return on investment.” According to the
two commentators mentioned above, South Africans seem to reap
inadequate fruits from their investment in formal education. Other
categories of perceived failure of the education project include:
inadequate preparation for functioning as a productive worker in
the national workforce; the inability to read with comprehension;

7
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the unsatisfactory through-flow of learners from Grade 1 to Grade

12; widespread learner misconduct; and several more. In the
absence of objective criteria for assessing whether or not
education in South Africa could be deemed “effective”, we decided
to use categories such as these as sub-headings in the second
part of this chapter. In that discussion, we distinguish between
what could be regarded as symptomatic of the ineffectiveness or
failures of the system, and the actual stumbling blocks, obstacles
or hindrances on the way to the desired level of effectiveness.

1.2.5 Possible reasons for the perceived ineffectiveness or

failures of the education system
Without necessarily pre-empting our findings, we are in a position
already at this early stage of this discussion, to state that there is
something starkly amiss with the education system in South Africa.
We suspected also, at the time of writing this chapter, that the
other authors who contributed chapters to this book, would
highlight a plethora of stumbling blocks to effective education in
the country. We therefore set ourselves the task to conclude this
chapter with a section in which we recommend some reforms that
might lead to improvement – both in terms of quantity and quality
– to the educational project in South Africa.

1.3 Research method

An interdisciplinary approach was followed in putting this chapter
together. A qualitative interpretivist examination of the data was
initially done, and the results thereof combined with a legal-
hermeneutic interpretation (Babbie & Mouton, 2007:31). Legal
source material in the form of statutory provisions was consulted

8
 CHAPTER 1

and analysed with the aid of hermeneutical techniques such as

the interpretation of statutes (Venter, Van der Walt, Van der Walt,
Olivier, Pienaar & Du Plessis, 1990:148). The constructivist phase
of the investigation finally came to bear on the data when we
engaged in the construction of new insights and understandings
flowing from the interpreted data, and of the problem at hand (Van
der Walt, 2020:6). This chapter is the upshot of this constructivist
engagement.

1.4 Symptoms of a failing education system

1.4.1 Inadequate preparation for the world of work

A foreign agency, the USAID (2022), recently concluded that the
majority of South African learners, at the point of leaving school
“are not equipped with basic skills and core competencies
necessary to succeed in the workplace and much less in a highly
competitive global market.”

1.4.2 Unsatisfactory through-flow of learners

A serious concern regarding the effectiveness of the education
system is the poor through-flow (50%) of South African learners
who start schooling in Grade 1 but fall by the wayside and never
achieve a national matric certificate (Van der Walt, 2023:13;
Beukman, 2023: 10).

A negative spin-off of this dropout is that the results of the Grade

12 examination are misleading. The pass rate of 80.1 per cent
attained by the matric cohort of 2022 pertains only to those
learners who actually sat for the examination, in other words, it

9
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represents this percentage of the 50 per cent of learners who

remained in the system (Beukman, 2023: 10). The rest had fallen
by the wayside and many of them had through the previous 12
years added to the numbers of unskilled workers, or of the
unemployed. This is one of the main reasons for the inordinately
high unemployment rate of 39.2 per cent in South Africa (Van der
Walt, 2023: 13). In retrospect, Mmusi Maimane, leader of a
political party in South Africa, laconically concluded, “We are
educating young people for unemployment” (Banda, 2023: 8).

1.4.3 Poor academic results

Even though formal education is allotted 20 percent of the South
African gross domestic product, analyses of annual matric results
indicate a consistently poor through-flow of learners to the stage
of obtaining a matric certificate after 12 years of schooling. On
average, only four to five out of ten learners who begin grade one
in a South African public school finish matric within the allotted
timeframe (Beukman, 2023: 10).

Literacy and numeracy skills are the foundations of lifelong

learning and full participation in society. These skills empower
students to make meanings, think critically and creatively, and
reach their full potential. Throughout the grades, literacy and
numeracy are taught across all areas of learning (Foundations in
Learning, 2023) because the “global society depends increasingly
on literacy as a major factor for progress” (N’Namdi, 2005:1).
Despite this emphasis on the importance of literacy and numeracy,
South African learners have been performing below par in two
basic fields of study, namely reading literacy skills and mastering
the basics of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. When the

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Progress in Reading Literacy Skills (PIRLS) tests were

administered for the first time on South African Grade four learners
in 2016, it emerged that 78 percent of them could not read with
comprehension (Prinsloo, 2018;1). The greater concern is that this
percentage increased by 3 percent to 81% in the 2021 PIRLS tests
(Deacon, 2023: 7). The ability to read with understanding is a
prerequisite for all future learning and forms the basis of all future
personal development (Beukman, 2023: 20).

Also of great concern is the fact that South African learners lack
the skills to perform satisfactorily in Mathematics and Science.
When South Africa participated for the first time in the International
Comparative Trends in International Mathematics and Science
Study (TIMMS) tests in 1999, learners ended in the last position
out of 38 participating countries. Twenty years later, in 2019, with
more international participating countries on board, South African
learners ranked as follows: Mathematics grade 4: 56th; grade 8:
38th; Science grade 4: 57th; grade 8: 39th (Du Plessis, 2020:13).

1.4.4 Learner misconduct

Many experienced educational leaders are convinced that learner
indiscipline in South African schools is worsening (Brits, 2022(d):
1). A 2017 survey conducted among teachers working in schools
affiliated with the South African Teachers’ Union confirmed that 85
per cent of the respondents were concerned about increasing
levels of learner misconduct, to the extent that they were
considering leaving the teaching profession (Kruger, 2018(b): 5).
In a more recent study on learner misconduct, one of the
participating teachers averred: “Many teachers are considering
early retirement because of disrespectful pupils and a lack of

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discipline in the classroom (…) You spend 75% of the time

teaching pupils the manners they didn’t learn at home.” Another
participating teacher concurred by saying: “More and more
teachers [are] retiring before the age of 65 because they can’t
handle the hostile situations in schools any longer” (Coetzer, 2022:
3).

What these teachers were increasingly experiencing in their

schools was the obverse of what is stipulated in the Guidelines for
the consideration of Governing Bodies in adopting a code of
conduct of learners (SA, 1998), namely that the synchronisation
of order and sound conduct among all participants in any teaching
and learning environment is a prerequisite, not only for the
character building of learners, but also for the establishment of a
suitable “environment to facilitate effective education and learning
in schools” (SA, 1998). Items 1.1. and 1.2 of these Guidelines (SA,
1998) emphasise that a school’s Code of Conduct “must aim at
establishing a disciplined and purposeful environment to facilitate
effective education and learning in schools” and “to ensure that
there is order and discipline in schools.” Order is a prerequisite for
teaching and learning to succeed. It is for this reason that a school
is expected, in accordance with section 8 (1 & 2) of the South
African Schools Act, to adopt a Code of Conduct for Learners
aiming at “establishing a disciplined and orderly school
environment, dedicated to the improvement and maintenance of
the quality of the learning process” (SA, 1996).

Albert Einstein once famously quipped: “In theory, theory and

practice are the same. In practice, they are not” (Haddad, 2019).
Theory about the maintenance of order and discipline in schools
seems not to result in the desired practice. According to Zulu and

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Wolhuter (2013:1), “the issue of learner misconduct is a worldwide

problem that is of concern to parents, teachers and school
principals.” South African schools are no exception to this
tendency, as we now illustrate by referring to a number of practical
examples and incidences all over South Africa.

• A considerable number of learners in the Gauteng Province

of South Africa, 479 to be exact, perpetrated serious offences
in and around schools in 2018. These offences ranged from
sexual harassment, attempted murder, fraud, assault with the
intent to inflict serious bodily harm, bullying, assault of a
teacher and/or a member of school staff, possession of a
dangerous weapon, assault of a fellow learner on the school
premises, theft, disruptive behaviour, possession of illegal
drugs, trafficking in illegal substances to disruptive learner
behaviour (Kruger, 2018(a):1). A Grade 7 learner of the
Noorderlig Combined School in Benoni was bullied by fellow-
learners by repeatedly kicking a soccer ball at his head,
causing severe headaches over the ensuing weekend, and
his demise four days later (Sonnekus, 2017:6). A clinical
psychologist from Pretoria specialising in trauma stated that
in more than 40 per cent of the sexual abuse of children
cases, the abusers were fellow learners (so-called child-on-
child abuse) (Steyn, 2022:1).

• A random survey conducted in primary and secondary

schools of the Western Cape showed that as many as 66.7
per cent of learners in the study population tested positive for
the use of narcotics - the main substance being marijuana
(Nienaber, 2017: 10). Minister of Basic Education Angie

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Motshekga averred that learners using drugs are usually also

involved in drug trafficking (Brits, 2022(e):5).

• In 2017, a Grade 6 learner at the Dower Practising Schools in

the Eastern Cape was strangled and bullied by a fellow
learner to the extent that he had epileptic seizures. A medical
report later showed that he suffered brain damage as a result
of the bullying (Bezuidenhout, 2017: 16).

• A 16-year-old learner at Mqhawe Secondary School in Kwa-

Zulu Natal shot a 30-year-old educator on the school
premises with a firearm that he had stolen from one of his
relatives. This was in reaction to the teacher requesting him
to remain quiet while his fellow learners were writing exams
(News 24, 2022:13).

• A Grade-10 learner at High School Bergvlam in the North-

West Province assaulted one of his teachers in class, inflicting
serious injuries to the ribs and face (Brits, 2022(c):4). After a
scuffle between two learners at another North-West school,
the aggressor, a fifteen-year-old boy, was found guilty on a
charge of assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm.

1.4.5 Teenage pregnancies

Another symptom, not only of a failing education system but also
of moral decay in society, is the growing numbers of teenage
pregnancies, a social condition that impacts negatively on the lives
and future prospects of the young mothers and fathers, and their
children. According to a report of the United Nations Office for
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, 2021; Willemse,
2022:12), 90 037 South African teenagers between the ages of 10

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and 19 fell pregnant and gave birth to a child between April 2021
and March 2022. Based on his research in the Matjitjileng village,
Thobejane concludes that “teenage pregnancy in South Africa is
growing rapidly among school-going pupils and it leads to school
drop-out as the teenage mothers must leave school to care for
their babies. Teenage mothers add to the number of women who
are illiterate. In Matjitjileng village, pregnancy among young
people has reached pandemic heights” (Thobejane, 2015: 273).

It is estimated that approximately one million teenagers fall

pregnant in South Africa each year. Around 30 000 of them fall
pregnant before reaching 18 years of age. One of the reasons for
this phenomenon is the fact that worldwide, around 75 per cent of
teenagers younger than 15 years of age enjoy little or no access
to information about sexuality and reproduction (Bezuidenhout,
2008).

1.5 Possible stumbling blocks on the way to effective

education
The discussion in the previous section pivoted on what could be
regarded as symptoms or indicators that the South African system
of education is failing in a number of respects. Simply put: The
South African education system has so far not been able to
implement plans and strategies to ensure that school-leavers are
appropriately prepared for the world of work after their sojourn at
school, to ensure an optimal through-flow of learners, and in so
doing, preventing large numbers of jobless young people from
roaming the streets and dabbling in anti-social behaviour such as
drug abuse and crime. The education system has also not been
able to provide the quality of teaching required for learners to

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perform well in the PIRLS and TIMMS tests. It has also not been
able to curb learner indiscipline which has grown to worrying
proportions in schools and in the surrounding communities. It has
not contributed significantly to the project of preventing teenage
pregnancies. In this Section, we argue that these conditions could
be ascribed to (inter alia) unprofessional educator conduct,
inordinately large numbers of teachers retiring (early), the lack of
appropriate leadership in schools, dangerous conditions
prevailing in and around schools, and finally unsatisfactory
logistics and school infrastructure. All of these factors and
conditions can be regarded as stumbling blocks on South Africa’s
way to effective education.

1.5.1 Unprofessional educator conduct

One of the pillars of any profession is to set an example of
respectable behaviour in compliance with the professional code of
conduct associated with the profession. A teacher registered with
the South African Council for Educators (SACE) is expected to “act
in a proper and becoming way such that their behaviour does not
bring the teaching profession into disrepute” (SA, 2000(b)). Non-
compliance with this requirement is one of the major stumbling
blocks to effective education in South Africa. The United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) has pinpointed the
underperformance of South African teachers as the biggest
challenge in attaining quality education in South Africa. In its
opinion, many South African teachers are “plagued by limited
content knowledge, ineffective pedagogic practice and debilitating
teacher morale” (USAID, 2022:)

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Research conducted by the SACE in 2017 on the issue of

teachers physically and sexually abusing learners established that
more than twenty such incidents had occurred in a period of six
months (Narrain, 2017: 11). In one such case, a teacher at
Bothitong High School near Kuruman allegedly impregnated 30
learners of the school (Kemp, 2017: 6). In several cases filed
within a space of two weeks, teachers and caretakers at a
kindergarten in Gansbaai were accused of assaulting (slapping,
pushing or violently pulling) toddlers who seemed unwilling to
follow orders (Jansen, 2022(b): 4).

In 2021, Corruption Watch released a report which “sound(ed) the

alarm on acts of bribery, extortion, and abuse of authority in South
Africa’s schools, TVET colleges, and sector education and training
authorities (SETAS)” (Modise, 2022:1). This report on
unprofessional educator conduct refers to the 3 600 complaints
that Corruption Watch received from 2012 to 2021 concerning
incidents of fraud, theft, bribery, corruption, mal-administration,
abuse of authority such as the victimisation of whistle blowers,
theft, embezzlement of funds, and the misuse of resources in the
educational sector. Other reports on unprofessional educator
conduct indicate that, in the period 2017 to 2022, there were 173
cases of sexual misconduct by educators in the province of
Gauteng alone (Brits, 2022:12). A male teacher working in a North-
West school was found guilty on a charge of the sexual
harassment of a female learner at the school (Cilliers, 2022(b):4).

1.5.2 Teachers retiring (early)

A Department of Higher Education and Training report entitled
Teacher Demand in South Africa in 2019 and beyond indicated

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that the annual graduate teacher figures for 2017 was estimated
at a conservative number of 22 780 teacher education graduates
whereas a conservative demand scenario for 2018 was around 23
000 of such graduates (DHET, 2019: 63). In the longer term (up to
2030), a growing demand of 2 000 new teachers per annum was
predicted.

Although the discrepancy between supply and demand is “not so

large that it appears to be impossible” to cope with (DHET,
2019:63), the possibility of a large number of retiring teachers in
the near future is likely to cause a shortfall in teacher supply in the
coming years. This situation could be exacerbated by the
retirement of many teachers in the near future. A research project
of the University of Stellenbosch verified that “the country faces an
ageing teacher problem” in that almost half of public-school
teachers in the country are currently between 50 and 60 years old
(Monama, 2022). This means that around 49 percent of the public-
school teachers will be going on pension during the next decade.
To add insult to injury, the research also uncovered the fact that
many teachers are leaving the teaching profession even before
reaching the official retirement age. An analysis of the data
confirmed that in 2013, approximately 7 800 teachers resigned
before reaching the official retirement age. In 2021, this number
almost doubled: 12 500 teachers left the profession. Some of the
reasons for their early retirement included attractive teaching
propositions abroad, a more promising teaching offer at a private
school, the offer of a governing body post, other attractive options
outside the educational sphere, and also because of frustrations
experienced in the educational working environment.

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There is no prescribed class size norm in South Africa. It is

advisable, however, that the current ratio of 1:30 should improve
to 1:25, particularly in the lower grades (Deacon, 2023: 7), a ratio
that is also typical of a middle-income country. If this more
favourable ratio is to be attained, another 100 000 teachers would
have to be employed now (Gustaffson, 2021). Such an
improvement in the ratio is improbable, however, in view of the fact
that around 49 per cent of South Africa’s publicly employed
teachers will most likely retire over the next decade. This
essentially means that the universities will have to turn out 6 000
more new teachers each year than the current 28 000 just to
maintain the current ratio (Monama, 2022).

If this higher number of new teachers does not materialise soon,

the envisioned teacher to learner ratio of 1:30 will be perpetuated.
We know from experience that this tends to result in overcrowded
classes and even schools. If this ratio gets out of hand, it could
have a detrimental effect on the quality of teaching and learning in
classrooms, a condition that is unlikely to contribute to effective
education in South Africa.

1.5.3 The absence of strong leadership in schools

It is a widely accepted dictum that any organisation (including a
school) stands or falls at the hands of its leadership (Kolzow, 2014:
5). Educationist Jonathan Molver (2022:30) is convinced that
South African schools suffer from a leadership crisis, and that
“bold policy reform” is required in this respect. Although, he avers,
the quality of any education system can never exceed the quality
of its teachers, the teachers as such also need efficient leaders to
guide them in their professional activities. According to him, South

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African schools need more efficient leaders, particularly principals.

Although around 70 per cent of principals in charge of South
African schools meet the minimum qualification criteria, only
around 15 per cent of them are “extremely well qualified.” Both
percentages, the 30 percent without the required leadership
qualifications, and the 85 per cent who are deemed “just
adequately qualified” for the leadership task of the principal, is a
cause of concern; hence a stumbling block on South Africa’s way
to effective education.

1.5.4 Dangers lurking in and around schools

Many forms of serious misconduct in South African schools might,
in certain instances, be comparable to international tendencies. A
complicating factor in South Africa’s case is the criminal climate
currently prevailing in the country. Recent South African Police
Department quarterly statistics (1 January – 31 March 2023)
indicate a sharp increase in contact crimes: as many as 70
murders per day, and other forms of contact crime (e.g., assault)
every 50 seconds (Willemse & Barnard, 2023: 6). The statistics
paint a bleak picture of the criminal environment in which the
upcoming generation must live, work and attend school. During
the first quarter of 2023, the following criminal offences pertaining
to children were reported to the police: 245 children younger than
17 years of age were murdered; 360 children were faced with
attempted murder; 1 931 children were assaulted, and – according
to Minister of Police, Bheki Cele – a growing number of children
are currently becoming victims of muti murders (Barnard, 2023:1).
The above-mentioned Police Report showed a rise in rape
incidents at schools in the same quarter. The number of rape

20
 CHAPTER 1

cases increased by 18 to 84 in the quarter January to March 2023

- amounting to approximately one reported rape incident per day
(Mashale, 2023:2; Mahlatsi, 2023:11). More than 40 of the
offenders were fellow learners or students. In some cases,
teachers were also accused of this crime.

The safety (or rather unsafe) situation in South African schools

clearly constitutes an obstacle on the way to effective education.
A learner who has to constantly look over their shoulder to avoid
becoming the victim of a serious crime cannot concentrate on their
schoolwork. The general criminal climate prevailing in parts of
South Africa, particularly in some metropolitan suburbs, imbue the
hearts and minds of learners and teachers alike with a sense of
anxiety, making it difficult to devote their undivided attention to
their schoolwork, and to effectively display their mastery of the
required knowledge, skills and capabilities in tests and
examinations. One can, at this point, only conjecture whether such
unsafe conditions in schools might not have led up to the poor
results that South African learners display in PIRLS and TIMMS
tests, and even in the Grade 12 (matriculation) examination.

The following are some of the fateful incidents endangering the

lives of school learners, thereby creating a serious stumbling block
to effective education (Coetzer, 2022:3; Jansen, 2022(c):2):

• A 21-year-old learner of the Qalabotjha Secondary School in

Gauteng was arrested after having stabbed to death a fellow-
learner (Beeld, 2022:24)

• Three learners at High School Riebeekrand in Randfontein

committed suicide as a result of being bullied by fellow
learners of the school. In a similar incident a Grade 10 learner

21
CHAPTER 1

of a school near Hoedspruit in the Limpopo Province also

committed suicide after she had been bullied by a fellow
learner (News 24).

• During the month of December 2022 two bomb scares were

reported in Gauteng schools – one at Boksburg High School;
the other one at the School of Achievement (sarcasm
unintended) in Germiston (Brits, 2022: 6).

• Supervised by their teacher, a group of learners of the

Rustenburg Technical School went on an excursion to a
nearby Rustenburg farm. Three of the learners who had
obtained permission from the teacher to go swimming in the
farm-dam drowned (Cupido, 2022: 4).

• During a fight on the school premises of the Sir Pierre van

Ryneveld High School in Kempton Park, a Grade 11 learner
was seriously injured, and ultimately passed away (Jansen,
2022:10).

• Seven learners of the Dinokaneng High School in

Vanderbijlpark were injured and taken to hospital when the
school bus collided with them. One of the learners who was
fatally injured later died in the hospital (Cilliers, 2022:4).

• In general, some of South Africa’s public schools have

become unsafe environments. In an interview conducted with
a concerned mother, she responded by saying that children
should rather refrain from arguments at school lest they are
stabbed. She then added, “We are sending our children to
war.” (Delport, 2022:13.)

22
 CHAPTER 1

• An angry learner at a Krugersdorp High School jumped on the

back of a 65-year-old teacher and strangled him (Khumalo,
2022:4).

• A tragic incident recently occurred when the body of a 17-

year-old girl was found near a school in Soshanguwe in the
Tswane township. She was apparently walking back home,
having attended extra classes at school when she was
“sexually assaulted and brutally murdered” (Mahlatsi,
2023:11.)

• In April of 2023 a young female teacher at Middelpos Primary

School in Saldanha was killed by her estranged husband in
the presence of the school’s learners when he drove up to her
car and shot her in cold blood (Theron, 2018: 14).

• In December 2012 a 20-year-old killed 20 grade one children

and six teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School,
before he committed suicide.

1.5.5 Inadequate logistics and failing infrastructure

It stands to reason that, if education (schooling) has to be provided
in facilities that are in a dilapidated state, with amenities that are
either non-existent or seriously faulty, the end result will leave
much to be desired. And this is precisely the case with many of
the schools in South Africa. Le Cordeur (2022: 17) refers to all
these shortcomings as “the many logistical challenges facing
education in South African schools.”

A major obstacle in the achievement of effective education is that

not enough new schools are being built. In his State of the Nation
Address on 11 February, 2022, President Ramaphosa admitted

23
CHAPTER 1

that government still has to build at least 2 500 new schools

around the country (Ramaphosa, 2022). This shortage of schools
results in problems with the placement of learners at the opening
of the school year, and for some learners, it means no admission
in the school of their choice (Louw-Carstens, 2023:6). This causes
many schools (and classes) being overcrowded: some
classrooms must accommodate 60 or more learners. In addition
to this overall lack of schools, the conditions in which many
children need to spend their days at school are rather challenging.
Approximately 10 000 schools in South Africa do not have any
sport facilities, for instance. Some 1 800 of them do not have a
library, and around 20 000 of them, no laboratory. Around 5 000
schools, particularly in Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-
Natal still have pit latrines “or … no proper sanitation facilities”
(Dywaba, 2022:2). Several learners have lost their lives by
drowning in pit latrines (Prince, 2023:1). Because of the neglect of
the Department of Public Construction to pay the electricity and
water bills of schools timeously, schools around the country are
compelled to go without these amenities (Swanepoel, 2017:8). In
some cases, schools such as the one in the Tumahole township
in the Northern Free State, are compelled to close down due to a
lack of safe drinking water on the school premises (Gericke,
2023:5).

1.6 Discussion
Two theories enable us to form a picture of the current situation in
South Africa, namely chaos theory, and complexity theory. Chaos
theory enables us to understand a given situation, such as the
state of education in South Africa, as an assemblage of continually

24
 CHAPTER 1

changing phenomena, including the actions (or neglect of action)

by human actors (for instance, teachers), interpretations (for
instance, of policy) and meanings (for instance, what the current
matric pass rate of 80 per cent means). The theory helps us
understand that we have, at best, only a partial grasp of what
transpires on the education scene in South Africa, and we are
occasionally compelled to work with untested surmises. Chaos
theory departs from the notion that reality, including the realities of
education in South Africa, appears to be a dynamic, confusing
entity in which the component parts are driven by human ideals,
choices, contradictions, power play and imbalances (Barrett,
2009: 157, 161).

Chaos theory also helps us to understand that the educational

scene in South Africa is currently not a well-oiled operation. Apart
from the fact that we do not have objective criteria for judging
whether education in South Africa is effective or not, and also apart
from the fact that education as a national enterprise is extremely
complex and difficult to manage (Dekker, Celliers & Hofmeyr,
2011), its complexity is compounded by the dysfunctionality of the
different dimensions and aspects that we discussed in the
previous sections of this chapter. Humans do not find it easy to
think in terms of complex systems, because these systems (such
as the South African education system) are essentially dynamic,
unstable and unpredictable (Raworth, 2022: 130).

If one adds to this complexity the “chaos” in the form of a number

of dysfunctionalities in the system, the education scene in South
Africa becomes an even more complex mélange. What we do
know is that no single factor can explain whether or not education
in South Africa is effective. Single factors, such as claiming that a

25
CHAPTER 1

Grade 12 pass rate of 80 per cent has been achieved in a

particular year, are clearly inadequate. Reflection on the notion of
“effective education” therefore has to be done at system level, at
the level of causal interactions (Dekker et al., 2011) – as we have
attempted to do in the initial sections of this chapter.

The complexity and the “chaos” that we currently detect in the

South African education system present us (the authors whose
publications appear in this book) with many opportunities for
research, and for coming up with solutions to the many problems
with which the system is currently afflicted. As educationists, we
need to find ways to understand and manage, both philosophically
and physically, this complex situation (Plotnitsky, 2006: 42-47).
Put differently, the current situation in the South African system of
education proffers a plethora of research opportunities to
educationists (as evident in the compilation of the book in which
this chapter appears). Each book chapter, each dissertation or
thesis, each conference paper, each report on research that was
done represents one small piece of the huge jig-saw puzzle that
is reality, in this case educational reality. The discussion in the
remainder of this section is proffered in this spirit of shaping a
piece or two of the education reality puzzle of South Africa.

1.6.1 Sound professional conduct

To ensure that education in South Africa becomes effective in the
not-too-distant future, all those who are placed in positions of
responsibility, from the Minister of Education, through all the
administrators on the various levels of management, the
principals, to the teachers in the classrooms, should be well-
trained, apply themselves diligently to the challenges and duties

26
 CHAPTER 1

of their profession and in the interest of the learners, and be

responsible for all their actions. This means that each functionary
should attend to the functionality of everything in his or her working
environment and be prepared to take responsibility for any form of
dysfunctionality. This applies to the teachers who are in daily
interaction with learners. They can be expected to display sound
professional conduct as role models for the learners who have
been entrusted to their care and professional knowledge. They
can be expected to set a good example to the learners and to the
wider community beyond the school by demonstrating compliance
with high ethical and moral standards. They can be expected to
display compliance with the ethics and morals as provided for in
section 2.5 of the Code for Professional Ethics for Educators (SA,
2000 (b)).

Many an experienced educator is convinced that, currently,

learner discipline in South African schools is parlous due to the
depraved behaviour of their teachers (Brits, 2022(d):1). The vital
motive of servanthood, a sine qua non for the teaching profession,
is often lacking among teachers. A sound work ethic, based on a
“higher calling” as understood by a particular individual, should
find a place in the hearts and minds of the teaching corps of South
Africa. A willingness to serve is a fundamental principle of the
teaching profession; teachers should display willingness to serve
the interests of their learners, the parents, and the state (Heystek
& Lethoko, 2001:224). As professionals, teachers are called to
serve, not for material gain or for enhancing their image or
positions, and also not for a self-serving ego. A teacher’s duty and
calling to serve is inspired by a higher calling: the calling to serve
in the best interests of others. The seven roles of an educator, as

27
CHAPTER 1

prescribed by the Department of Education (DBE, 2000), serve as

a valuable guideline in this respect: a professional educator should
be a learning mediator; an interpreter and designer of learning
programmes and support material; a leader; an administrator and
manager able to fulfil a pastoral role; an assessor, and a person
who is knowledgeable about the relevant field of study he or she
presents.

1.6.2 Avoiding a possible shortage of teachers

To avoid a possible shortage of teachers in future, the South
African Department of Basic Education should consider adopting
the United Kingdom’s practice by appointing assistant teachers
from a pool of available pensioners and senior teacher students
on a temporary basis. The pool of school governing body posts
can obviously be enlarged where needed.

1.6.3 Competent leadership

The presence and guidance of a competent leader (read: school
principal) is a prerequisite for the success of any organisation,
including a school. “A true leader needs to have a vision; not in the
sense of something abstract or intangible, but as a tangible
managerial instrument with a clearly defined goal, containing a
detailed plan and timetable for achieving that goal” (Scott,
2006:33). This guideline is aligned with the following Biblical
perspective: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov.
29:18). A competent leader also needs to be well informed.
Polybius once quipped that a good general not only sees the way
to victory; he also knows when victory is possible. A principal, as
the leader of all those involved in their school, should therefore be

28
 CHAPTER 1

well-informed about everything that might impact on the

performance of their school. As things stand now, a principal
should only have a matric certificate plus a four-year degree. The
professional standards for principalship should be raised to a
postgraduate qualification on educational leadership. One of the
avenues that could be explored for this purpose is the reinstitution
of teacher training facilities such as the former College of
Education for Further Training (CEFT) which was founded in 1974
but terminated in the mid-1990s. During its time, the CEFT offered
an off-campus diploma focusing, among others, on educational
management and leadership (CEFT, 1987:1).

1.6.4 The provision of proper school infrastructure

We agree with Ms Angie Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education,
who recently stated that the only way to prevent overcrowded
schools and classrooms is for her department to start building
more schools (Cupido, 2023:6). This has been said repeatedly in
the past, but not enough has been done in this regard during the
last three decades. Attention to this requirement is now more
urgent than ever. In the process, all pit latrines should be replaced
with modern bathroom facilities, and libraries and sports facilities
provided at all schools.

1.6.5 The eradication of learner misconduct

In the outline in the initial sections of this paper, learner
misconduct was identified as one of the major stumbling blocks on
South Africa’s way to effective education. This is an issue that
requires immediate and dedicated attention by the authorities,
from the Department of Basic Education right down to classroom

29
CHAPTER 1

level. Section 10 of the South African Schools Act (SA, 1996)

stipulates that the implementation of a proper Code of Conduct for
learners is of prime importance to ensure and maintain an
environment conducive to optimal teaching and learning. Learner
misconduct tends to disrupt the orderly flow of didactical
procedures in the classroom. A clear, plausible code of conduct
should be adopted for the purpose of managing learner conduct
in, as well as outside, the classroom. Such a code of conduct could
also form the basis of class rules (cf. Item 5.1(a) of the Guidelines
for a Code of Conduct (SA, 1998) regarding the formulation of
class rules). Whereas a school’s code of conduct is general in its
application to activities in the school as a whole, class rules pertain
to the requirements of the unique setting of a particular classroom.
The class rules for a Civil Engineering workshop will obviously
differ from those for the Home Economics or for the Art class.

To combat serious misconduct by learners is a much more

challenging task. In 2018, Angie Motshega, Minister of Basis
Education averred that “there is a correlation between high levels
of criminality in the community which is transported into schools.
Guns come from communities; the knifing and anger come from
communities” (Daniel, 2018). Based on the statistics provided by
Nation Masters (2019), the crime rate in South Africa stands at
58.94 per 100 000 of the population. Both the utterance by the
Minister and the crime statistics suggest that schools should take
hands with the surrounding communities and institutions such as
churches in a renewed project to raise the morality level in
communities. Such a project might have positive spinoffs for
schools in that (serious) learner misconduct might be ameliorated.
In the meantime, it is necessary for schools to be properly fenced

30
 CHAPTER 1

so that negative influences from the outside be kept from

encroaching on school premises and leading learners into
temptation during school hours. Learners could be educated about
such dangers and temptations during assembly.

It is also advisable to prevent lethal objects such as weapons and

drugs from entering the school premises. In terms of section 8A of
the South African Act (SA, 1996), the principal (or his/her delegate)
is allowed to search learners to prevent weapons or illegal drugs
from entering school premises. In terms of these provisions, and
under certain circumstances, it is allowed to delegate these
powers to a pensioned police officer.

1.7 Conclusion
In terms of Section 28(2) of the South African Constitution (SA,
1996(b)), all those involved in formal education in South Africa are
to serve the best interests of the child. The interest of the child is
deemed to be of paramount importance in every matter related to
the child. New York State Senator Carol Bellany (AZ Quotes)
justifiably averred that “in serving the best interests of children we
are serving the best interests of all humanity.” The contents of this
chapter were proffered in this spirit, that although currently many
shortcomings in, and obstacles to, the attainment of effective
education in South Africa exist, much can be done to put things on
a trajectory towards greater effectiveness. The contents of this
chapter were also proffered as a way of attaining a bird’s-eye view
of the educational scene in South Africa.

31
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