Education Reforms in South Africa and Tanzania: Lessons for Kenya
By Anthony M. Wanjohi
1.1 Educational Reforms
in South Africa
In order to gain a full
understanding of where South Africa as a nation and specifically the education
system is today, it is necessary to understand the history of the country, in
particular the history of apartheid and how it still affects the country.
From the 1950s up to the
early 1990s the education system in South Africa mirrored its apartheid policy.
The Bantu Education Act (No. 47) of 1953 widened the gaps in educational
opportunities for the different racial groups in South Africa. The act stated
that students of different races were not allowed to study in the same schools.
It also prohibited mathematics and science from being included in the
curriculum of the Black education system. The act was created in the belief
that maths and sciences were not necessary
in the preparation of the young Black South Africans for the low-wage labourthey were being groomed to perform. At the same time
it protected the privileged White minority from competition in the skilled work
force. The White education system received the highest amount of funding and
resources, while the funding and resources allocated to the Black education
system were minimal in comparison. Black schools had inferior facilities, were
often without text books, and teachers with no, or poor, professional
qualifications, (Crouch, 2004).
In 1991, a multiracial
forum3 led by FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela began working on a new
constitution. An interim constitution was passed in 1993, which dismantled
apartheid, and a multiracial democracy with majority rule began. The transition
of South Africa from apartheid into democracy occurred peacefully and is one of
the 20th century's most remarkable success stories. The country's first
multiracial election took place in 1994. The victor in this election was the
African National Congress (ANC), led by Nelson Mandela. The new government
included six ministers from the NP and three from the Inkatha Freedom
Party (IFP). Work on a new national constitution began immediately, which was
approved and adopted in May 1996 (Infoplease, 2007)
Teacher training in
apartheid South Africa reflected the policy that ruled the country. Teachers
were trained according to their classified race. Conditions which teachers
faced within schools were also reflective of the attitude of the government of
the time towards the different race groups. The conditions varied greatly, from
the well resourced White schools to the under resourced Black schools which
were used as a base for resistance against the National Party (NP) government.
Certain resistant behavior and attitudes developed (amongst learners and
teachers) during this time and are still evident in the schools today. Many of
the teachers still operate under the same conditions that they experienced
during the apartheid era, so one has to wonder how they are able to suitably
implement new policy and practices, (Jansen, 2002). By the early 1990s
shortages of teachers, classrooms, and equipment in the black schools were
great. The policies of apartheid had taken their toll on education, (Crouch,
2004 & OECD, 2008).
The differences in all
stages of education that were provided to the different racial groups were
vast. According to Byrnes (1996), the disparity in teacher-pupil ratios and
teacher qualifications in the various school types were particularly
significant. Byrnes indicates that in a White primary school there was an
average of one teacher to eighteen students, contrasting with the Black primary
schools where it was as high as one to thirty nine. Up to ninety six percent of
all teachers in White schools had professional teaching qualifications while
only fifteen percent of teachers in Black schools were qualified.
Addressing the
injustices of the past education system was one of the most daunting tasks the
government faced in the early 1990s. Since 1996, every South African has had
the right to a basic education, as well as to a further education. This was
laid out in the 1996 Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa, (infoplease, 2007). The
State is required to make education available and accessible to all South
Africans. Educational policies have been rewritten with the intention of
ensuring equality, and quality of education, for all South Africans (Crouch,
2004).
Rectifying inequalities
within the education system was one of the largest issues that the ANC
government faced in 1994. In the early 1990s the new government set about
reducing the differences which existed between the schools. Many policies were
created, a new innovative curriculum was revised and there was a restructuring
of the education departments. Many international specialists were brought in to
advise and oversee the creation of the new system. South African policies were
linked to developments that were taking place in the international educational
environment, (Jansen, 2002).
One of the first changes
made in the education system was in the early 1990s. Traditionally White
schools were re-classified as Model B schools, which allowed limited access to
children of other races. However, preference was given to children living
within the area of the school. The Group Areas Act was abolished as late as
1991. As many Black children lived out of Model B schools’ districts, only a
few were admitted into the schools (Lemon, 1995). In the last days of
Apartheid, most White public schools were granted the right to appoint
teachers, to decide on admission policies and to impose fees. Through this
procedure Model B schools were transformed into what became known as Model C
schools. The reason for the reform was the semi-privatization of the White
public educational system, shifting the financing and control of White schools
to White parents. When Apartheid ended, all restrictions on racial mixing in
schools were officially abolished, and the 1996 South African Schools Act
extended most of the financing and governance provisions of Model C schools to
all public schools, (Selod & Zenou, 2002).
In 1998 the National
Norms and Standards for School Funding was published as policy (DOE, 1996b). This
complex policy effectively made the move from the previous categorization of
Model B and C schools and renewed efforts to reallocate funds equitably. In
essence after a complex calculation, as laid out in the policy, the funding for
schools was reorganized based on a number of factors pertaining to all schools.
The result was that the poorest and neediest schools received a higher per
learner funding allocation. Schools that fell into the Section 21 category of
the South African Schools Act were to receive funding from the government in a
lump sum and are to then allocate the resources as they see fit. This in
essence made them semi-independent from the department, (DOE, 1996).
This distribution of the
funding provided by the state is left in the charge of a school’s governing
body. Schools falling under the Section 21 category are able to charge school
fees and in doing so generate funding for the schools, allowing them to employ
more teachers, take care of buildings and covering costs that are not able to
be covered by the government funding. The majority of these schools are the
previously White Model C schools. These schools are able to employ more
teachers who are commonly known as governing body paid staff. This helps these
particular schools keep the teacher: student ratio low. Schools not on the
Section 21 list, now Section 20 schools, receive their funding from the
government who in turn determines how these funds are to be spent. They are not
allowed to charge school fees. They are therefore unable to employ teachers
over and above the allocation provided to them by the government, based on the
pre-determined teacher: student ratios. The aim of this policy was to ensure
that the poorer students were able to access schools, regardless of their parents’
financial situation. The majority of these schools were the previous Black,
poorer schools operating in the rural areas.
The policy allows
the Section 20 schools the opportunity to apply for Section 21 status, (DOE,
1996b). South Africa now has a single national education system which is
organized and managed largely on the basis of the nine provincial subsystems.
Under Apartheid up to 18 independent educational departments4 had existed
(Crouch, 2004). The South African Qualifications Authority Act (SAQA)
established a South African qualifications authority (DOE, 1995b). SAQA oversaw
the development of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) covering
standard setting and quality assurance. One of the main objectives of the NQF
was to create an integrated national framework for learning. Rectifying the
past discriminations in education, training and employment are other objectives
of the NQF. Table 2 shows the various levels in the South African Education
System as laid out by the NQF. (SAinfo,
2006).
The 1994 elections in
South Africa marked a transition in the country’s history. This policy of
governance up to 1994 involved the segregation of races and a large degree of
bureaucracy. No institute reflected the policy of the government as clearly as
the education system did during those years. The system consisted of four
education systems, based on the racial classification of apartheid, each having
their own schools and training colleges. The administration of these four systems
was shared by some 18 education departments. This system ensured that schooling
was racially separated and reflected the apartheid beliefs about race, (Brook,
1996).
Resources and
funding provided for the different schools was based on race (Crouch, 2004).
This affected many areas of the schools. To name but a few of the obvious ones:
the resources available, the schools’ basic infrastructures, the teacher:
student ratios, students’ future employment opportunities. The curricula
covered in the different systems were also not equal. Hence many essential
elements of a basic education were left out of many South African students’
education. The official languages of instruction were English and Afrikaans,
with no African languages officially recognized (Johnson, 2007). By the time
1994 came around Apartheid had managed to create an institutionalized system of
educational inequality characterized by “a large degraded black sector on the
one hand and an administratively and pedagogically privileged white sector on
the other hand,” (Johnson, 2007, p. 185).
As has been shown in
this paper, education reforms have taken place in South Africa with the
intention of redressing the inequalities that resulted from the apartheid
education system. The reforms were generated by policy makers who were intent
on ensuring these inequalities are eradicated. The policy makers over the years
have generated a large number of policies designed to address different
problems that have been recognized in the years since the dismantling of
apartheid.
However, the policy
makers in their attempts to turn around an entire education system as quickly
as possible appear to have ignored many factors which affect the performance of
the reforms. The damage left by the apartheid education system was deep and the
policy makers in their attempts to create the changes they desire appear to
have overlooked these problems. In effect, they simply applied band-aid and hoped the wounds would heal. These wounds
have not healed. In fact, it appears that they are now festering and are not
going to go away until they are addressed. Facing the reality of what is going
on in the schools in South Africa is needed. No amount of policy is going to
remove what has been done, but working with what has been left behind would be
a start. Many of these lingering problems have been pointed out by both the
research performed by the Department of Education itself, and numerous agencies
employed to investigate the situation. It appears that all these investigations
so far have simply resulted in is more generation of policy which continually
fails to address the issues reported. I believe it is time the policy makers
acknowledge these problems and face them head on.
2.0 Lessons Learnt by Kenyan Educationists from
Reform Experiences Attempts in Tanzania
The history of tertiary
education in Tanzania is a short but not without highlights and interesting
moments. Under the Germany and British colonial system, Tanzania did not have
much tertiary educational activities. Most of the people who went past a few
years of primary schooling went into clerical positions or served as primary
school teachers, catechists and missionary assistants.
The positions that
required higher educational qualifications were comfortably filled by colonial
expatriates. Thus after independence, with the drive to Africanize, i.e. to
have Africans take-over the posts which had hitherto been occupied by the
colonial civil servants, a need for an increased enrolment for higher education
was found imperative. The University of East
Africa (UEA) became the rallying point for the development of the needed high
level manpower in the country until 1970 when the first national university -
the University of Dar es Salaam, was
established. The students though predominantly national, were also
predominantly middle class in values and disposition. There were many points of
disagreements between them and the government which led to the head-on
collision in 1966, after the establishment of the compulsory national service
scheme, whereby university graduates were to enlist for para-military service for 6 months. This culminated into
the first of many closures of the university when students have found
themselves confronted with the coercive instruments of the state.
Tanzanian educational
reforms have regarded the devolution boundaries as a great factor and to some
extent ushering in an unbalanced education system which has affected the
education sector both positively and negatively. Kenyan educationists should
learn the following aspects that have acted against and for the Tanzanian
educational reforms and borrow positive measures while at the same time
learning from the negatives.
Reforms and Positive
Societal Attitude towards Teachers and the Profession
Teacher status is
heavily influenced by the attitudes of the community towards the overall value
of education and the relationship between schools and the community.
Traditionally, teachers in Tanzania have had a strong sense of moral
accountability. ‘Teaching is far more than a job in a school. It is a role and
position in society and, as such, is associated with honor and responsibility’
(Barrett, 2004 p.13). But, as a consequence, teachers are vulnerable to
parental and community opinion. ‘If the parent values the teacher and the
teacher values the parent, you find that the work goes well’. In the past, most
concerns about this relationship have focused on rural areas.
In early 1990s, the
TADREG Survey found that three-quarters of primary school teachers regarded
teaching as a ‘respected profession’. The situation has however changed with
time due to reforms that have been done in the education sector. According to
the Hakie Elimu Survey
‘this situation seems to have changed drastically over the last 14 years’
(p.15). However, the survey results are not consistent on this issue; Over 70
percent of teacher questionnaire respondents agreed that teachers are respected
(76 percent rural, 60 percent urban), but ‘the majority of interviewees’ said
that teaching is not a respected profession anymore.
Educationists in Kenya
should ensure that teacher reforms that will follow soon after the
implementation of the new constitution do not in any way worsen the current
attitudinal state towards teaching. The state is not different from that in
Tanzania today considering that Kenya has now adopted a devolved government
system.
2.2 Reforms vs. Leaner
Results
Professional status is
closely linked to client perceptions of the quality and overall value of the
service that is being provided. It is frequently asserted that the perceived
value of education is falling in most households in Tanzania. This is due to
three factors namely, declining education quality, increased household
expenditure on education, and deteriorating employment prospects for school
leavers.
Reforms in Tanzania have
made obtaining good quality data on trends in learning outcomes very difficult.
Examination results are notoriously unreliable except where they are criterion
referenced in a rigorous manner. Primary school leaving examination results
have been improving quite appreciably since the late 1990s. However, the
results of independent tests administered to large samples of primary school
pupils show that learning outcomes are both low and declining.
The reforms In Tanzania
considered opening more chances for primary school as an urgent need. However,
the demand for primary education is also heavily dependent on the proportion of
primary school completers who are able to progress to secondary schooling,
since it is this level of education that provides access to ‘good jobs’. The
transition rate from primary to secondary education has doubled since the mid
1990s - from 15 to 30 percent. While poorer learning outcomes have been
counteracted to some extent by increased access to secondary education, wage
employment opportunities for male secondary school leavers deteriorated
appreciably during the 1990s. Interestingly, though, these opportunities have
remained relatively constant for female Form IV leavers (Mukyanuzi,
2003).
With the erosion of the
economic base in the country and the end of the cold war, the strong leftist
scholarship was increasingly replaced by the new right drift, heralded by the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund strategists who, in tandem argued
that, given the limited resources and unlimited demand, Tanzania’s public
funding priority should go to basic, rather than higher education.
A “steady decline of
real wages, severe shortage of books, journals, paper, laboratory equipment,
research facilities, and support for high level overseas training as well as
domestic post-graduate programmes”, (Mbilinyi 1990,
p. 17) have all contributed to the manifest erosion of scholarship and
intellectual production. Mbilinyi (1990, p.
17) further notes that “in 1988, Tanzanian university teachers could only feed
their families for about three days on the monthly wages, meaning that their
labor during the other working days of the month was not supported by wages at
all, but by ‘out of classroom’ activities”.
2.4 Reforms Vs. Employment in Educational Sector
Teaching in Tanzania is
widely perceived as employment of the last resort. As one NGO respondent put it
‘no one wants to be a teacher so why should they be respected’. However, among
primary school teachers at least, this contention is not supported by any of
the school surveys. Only 12 percent of the teacher respondents in the TADREG
Survey in 1990 said they joined the teaching profession because ‘I couldn’t get
the job I wanted’ and only 5 percent said that ‘there was no alternative to
teaching’. Over ten years later in 2003, the Haki Elimu Survey found that ‘most of the primary school
teachers stated that they became a teacher through choice, because teaching
appealed to them’ (p.15). Similarly, among the survey schools in Muleba and Temeke,
fewer than one in five teacher interviewees stated that they became a teacher
because of a lack of alternative employment opportunities. In contrast,
however, the results of the Swai Survey
suggest that most secondary school teachers opted for teaching as very much a
last resort.
These converging trends
have put tremendous stress on educational and other social systems responsible
for preparing society for the future and moderating the adverse impact of
social and economic change. In the face of these trends, countries are confronted
with the need to rethink their educational systems to prepare students for the
global economy, maintain economic progress, and assure that their citizens will
benefit equitably from these developments. And Kenya is no exception. While
Tanzania has invested her hopes for better education in many educational reform
attempts, her minimal success can give direction to Kenya while her failures
remain crucial lessons for Kenya. This Is important
considering that Kenya is in the wake of a new constitution.
To participate in
this global economy and to improve their standard of living, students will need
to leave school with a deeper understanding of school subjects, particularly
science, mathematics, and technology. They will need skills necessary to
respond to an unbounded but uncertain 21st century—skills to apply their
knowledge to real-world situations, to think critically, to collaborate, to
communicate, to solve problems, to create, and continue to learn.
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Mukyanuzi, F. (2003) Where
has all the Education gone in Tanzania? Employment
Outcomes among Secondary and University Leavers, Uganda: Makerere UP
Selod, P. & Zenou, S. (2002) Private Versus Public Schools in Post-apartheid South African
Cities: Theory and Policy Implications: Centre for Economic Policy
Research, University of Virginia
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Suggested Citation in
APA
Wanjohi, A.M. (2011). Education Reforms
in South Africa and Tanzania: Lessons for Kenya. KENPRO Online publications. Available online at http://www.kenpro.org/papers/education-reforms-south-africa-tanzania-lessons-kenya.htm
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