Robert J. Balfour Faculty of Education Sciences, NWU Education in a New South Africa: crisis and change Seminar ppt for the Education and International Development Seminar Series, IoE-UCL October 2016 Robert J. Balfour Faculty of Education Sciences, NWU

Acknowledgements Thank you to the IoE-UCL for the opportunity of a Visiting Fellowship in 2014-2015; And to Prof Norbert Pachler for hosting me on occasion to share and talk through ideas concerning the book. Also thanks to the Harry Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, North-West University and the National Research Foundation (SA) for the funding to pursue this research. The book came out in late 2015: Education in a New South Africa: Crisis and Change (CUP).

Opening Remarks: some issues In 1994 policy-makers, intellectuals, politicians and activists alike had achieved consensus that the systems that existed prior to 1994 were divisive, reactionary and racist, favouring the race and class privileges of the apartheid regime, and before that, of the colonial State. In 2016 the consensus about have been the achievements of transformation is not a stable one. Prior to the demise of the apartheid State there were 19 departments of education in South Africa. Nowadays there are two departments, and ostensibly one curriculum. But, two education systems have developed unintentionally over time. Changes to the schools system and curriculum have been motivated by a strong desire to bring about the better performance of learners, schools and the quality of teachers, and thus to restore confidence to the profession. But, existing policies serve unwittingly to exacerbate inequality.

Education 1994: uneven, unequal and undeveloped The state of schooling in 1994 Matriculation pass rate of 53.4% Adult literacy rate below 70% 7.1% of the population had a tertiary education 99% of white teachers were qualified 93% of Indian teachers were qualified 71% of Coloured teachers, and 54% of African teachers Professional staff in the higher education system comprised 80% white people 12% African 4% Coloured and 4% Indian. (20-Year Review 1994–2014, 40)

The background to #FEES MUST FALL movement The percentage of 18–24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has increased from about 30% in 1995 to 45% in 2011, while the percentage enrolled in education has decreased from 50% to 36% and the percentage of youths in employment remained fairly constant at between 17% and 19%. As such, there appears to have been a shift away from participation in education in favour of either economic inactivity or unemployment among youth. South Africa’s narrow youth unemployment rate of 50% is staggeringly high, both in the context of far lower average global and sub-Saharan youth unemployment rates and in terms of the country’s already high aggregate narrow unemployment rate of 25% (Spaull, 2013). The discontent extends also to higher education itself.

Secondary schooling: adequate provision but a crisis in quality that affects higher education Shepherd & Van der Berg (2015) from the ANA Grade 12 result, suggest that problems not addressed in teacher education for the early years manifest also with students and teachers in later years. Spaull (2013) finds that approximately 80% of all the schools were classified as dysfunctional. Ndebele (2014) described higher education as inefficient. The crisis is grown in early childhood education and reaped in adult life (Balfour, 2015).

Education provision: success in growth Girls’ Enrolment 1995, 2005, 2013 Level of Education 1995 2004 2013 Primary Education 3,028,826 3,627,631 3,639,211 High School 1,349,259 2,256,852 2,362,230 Boys’ Enrolment 1995, 2005, 2013 Level of Education 1995 2004 2013 Primary Education 3,611,390 3,816,511 3,639,211 High School 1,862,345 2,061,051 2,362,230 Total learner enrolments by gender in primary and high school. Level of education 1995 2004 2013   Males Females Total Primary 3,611,390 3,028,826 6,640,216 3,816,511 3,627,631 7,444,142 3,639,211 3,424,638 7,063,849 High School 1,862,345 1,349,259 3,211,604 2,061,051 2,256,852 4,317,903 2,362,230 2,231,267 4,593,497

Primary and Preprimary (Grade R): a mismatch between provision and performance Enrolment in Grade R (a pre-school year at primary school) has more than doubled since 1995, increasing from 300 000 to 705000 between 2003 and 2011, nearly reaching the level of universal access. By 2012, 87.8% of learners in Grade 1 in public schools had attended Grade R (20-Year Review 1994–2014, 47). From a 2014 survey of 4667 Grade 5 learners in 214 rural schools in South Africa: 41% of Grade 5 children were reading at a fluency level below 40 p/m. Almost all non-readers (88%) of this group scored less than 20% on comprehension tests… (Spaull & Draper, 2015). Interventions are needed particularly in teacher training for Grade R and ECE in home language literacy development. Recent research shows that even in schools where a related Nguni language is used, performance is still better than when English is used. Why?

Types of schools: public, independent, special needs and ECD (Pre-primary/ Grade R) Type of school School category Number of institutions Public School Primary 14 206   Secondary 6 411 Combined + Intermediate 5 209 Total (Public) 25 826 Independent School Combined Intermediate Total (Independent) 1544 Total Public and Independent Schools 27 370 Other Education Sector ECD 4 699 Special Needs School 442 Total (Other) 5 141 Grand Total of Public, Independent and Other Schools 32 511 Between 1995 and 2014 the growth in private education institutions and consortia of private schools and colleges has accelerated. School consortia like the Crawford Schools and the Curro Schools are private for-profit organisations. Greater choice and variety of schools has led to a more differentiated market for schools. This has had an odd effect on living areas.

Distribution of schools in terms of population Province Public Schools Ave Schools As % Total 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 08-13 08-'13 Eastern Cape 5 686 5 668 5 588 5 589 5 558 5 562 5 613 22.9% Free State 1 614 1 547 1 422 1 371 1 351 1 327 1 439 5,9% Gauteng 1 989 1 970 2 013 2 040 2 045 2 056 2 019 8,3% KwaZulu-Natal 5 783 5 907 5 927 5 957 5 955 5 937 5 911 24,2% Limpopo 4 023 3 988 3 965 3 931 3 935 3 924 3 961 16,2% Mpumalanga 1 873 1 844 1 838 1 821 1 807 1 768 1 825 7,5% Northern Cape 602 600 597 591 560 553 584 2,4% North West 1 730 1 716 1 646 1 591 1 551` 1 641 6,7% Western Cape 1 451 1 453 1 455 1 458 1 454 South Africa 24 751 24 693 24 451 24 365 24 255 24 136 24447 100% Spaull (2013) notes that ‘the more serious problem is widespread dropout before Grade 12. Over the four-year period between 2008 and 2011, the proportion of pupils taking mathematics (as opposed to maths literacy) has fallen from 56% to 45%, as more pupils opt for the easier maths literacy’ (Spaull 2013, 5).

Higher education between 1994 and 2016 In 1994 there were 150 higher education institutions providing teacher education, with approximately 200 000 enrolled students (32 universities, 120 colleges). The colleges of education were similarly disjointed and unequal prior to 1994. There were 104 colleges, 83 of which served mostly black students (over 70 000 students, with just over two-thirds of these – 48 672 – enrolled for primary school qualifications). In 2016 there are 25 public HEIs, and these universities can be classified into four broad categories: 11 traditional universities, inherited from the pre-1994 era; 6 comprehensive universities, resulting from mergers of previous universities and technikons; 6 universities of technology, which are upgrades of former technikons; 2 new institutions, namely the Sol Plaatje University in the Northern Cape, and the University of Mpumalanga, both of which started enrolling students in 2014.

Higher education: institution types and enrolments: success in growth Number of higher education institutions: universities and technical colleges Years 1995 2004 2013 Public FET   50 Private FET 155 864 536 Public University 21 23 26 Private University 15 11 Enrolments in higher education institutions: universities and technical colleges Institution 1995 2004 2013 Public FET   406 144 657 690 Private FET 706 884 115 586 Total 1 112 028 773 276 Public University 385 221 569 384 953 373 Private University 190 191 171 873 94 478 575 412 741 257 1 050 851

Higher education provision and growth Higher education has grown by over 80% since 1994, to a total enrolment of over 900 000. Redress in terms participation in higher education has been achieved: African enrolments reaching 79% and female enrolments 57% of the total by 2010 (Source: CHE, 2014).

Higher education: student participation by gender in major study fields (Source: CHE, 2014)

Student and staff participation in higher education: success with growth Students: The ‘graduation rate’, that is, the number of graduates as a percentage of head count enrolments in a given year, has also grown, though only marginally from 15% in 1994 to 17% in 2010. In terms of population groups, the number of African and coloured graduates, and their proportions in total graduate output, have increased substantially: for example, the number of African first-degree graduates grew by 50% between 1995 and 2010, to some 31 000. Staffing: According to the DHET data for 2013 there were 65 862 permanently appointed staff at public HEIs in 2013 (Table 2.24). The HEMIS personnel categories show that 31 707 (48%) of the 65 862 members of staff were categorised as professional staff.

Higher education staffing by race: 2007-2012 (Source: CHE, 2014)

Universities staffing: management by gender: 2007-2012: Note: steady increase in women in management positions. (Source: CHE 2014)

Universities staffing: management by race: 2007-2012 Note: The gradual increase of black academic staff in higher education is not matched in university management positions (Source: CHE 2014).

Snapshots of research over ten years (teacher ed) National gender profile of thesis authors across institutions in Education: 1995-2004 Gender Number Female 2076 Male 1646 Not Known 52 Total 3774 Disaggregation of theses by degree: 1995-2004 Degree Number Master’s 3082 Doctorates 692 Total 3774 Approximate race profile of thesis authors Racial profile Number Not Known 14 White 1786 African 1477 Coloured 112 Indian 374 Other (e.g. Chinese, Korean, etc.) 11 Total 3774 Source: Balfour et al. (2011)

Which institutions are active in generating a substantive proportion of the research in SA? Source: Balfour et al. (2011) Institutions Provincial base No. of theses University of Johannesburg Gauteng 712 University of South Africa 552 University of KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal 416 University of the Witwatersrand 408 University of Pretoria 302 North-West University North West 221 University of the Free State Free State 202 University of Cape Town Western Cape 172 Stellenbosch University 171 Rhodes University Eastern Cape 138 University of the Western Cape 134 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 125 University of Zululand 117 University of Limpopo Limpopo 33 Tshwane University of Technology 29 Durban University of Technology 18 Cape Peninsula University of Technology 9 University of Fort Hare 8 University of Venda 7 Vaal University of Technology Total   3774

What kinds of research are being generated What kinds of research are being generated? 2012-2013 Source: EDTP-SETA WSP SSP (2014)

Fees and full costs to study in higher education (Source: CHE, 2014)

Proposal for Undergraduate Curriculum Reform Source Ndebele et al. 2013 Only about one in four students in contact institutions (that is, excluding UNISA) graduate in regulation time (for example, three years for a three-year degree). Only 35% of the total intake, and 48% of contact students, graduate within five years. When allowance is made for students taking longer than five years to graduate or returning to the system after dropping out, it is estimated that some 55% of the intake will never graduate. Access, success and completion rates continue to be racially skewed, with white students’ completion rates being on average 50% higher than black students’ rates. The net result of the disparities in access and success is that under 5% of African and coloured youth are succeeding in any form of higher education. Performance is very poor for all groups across the three qualification types. Even in the four-year professional degrees, which are highly selective in terms of admissions requirements, the success rate is only 36%.

A retrospective: capacity, curriculum, class Whilst planning to massify the Higher education system in the first 20 years; insufficient planning was done to help universities to accommodate such growth in terms of human capital. In schooling the system has similarly grown as has capacity, but the key issue here has been the quality of teaching unaided by a damaging language policy in which English (90%) of SA or Afrikaans (10% of SA schools) remain mostly the languages of instruction. The absence of adequate provision for Indigenous languages has become more marked over time. There are terrible economic and political consequences to the perpetuation of Apartheid legacy practices in the context of widening access to the system one of which is high drop out, low throughput rates. South Africa’s working class (whether black or white) are deeply aware of in the gap between the promise and delivery: ‘the system’ continues to express itself in terms of privilege, even though race is perhaps not as dominant a feature as it was 20 years ago.

Interventions in schooling and higher education National academic capacity development plan to address critical skills shortages in the HE sector and deliver on demographic transformation. National focus on curriculum transformation and the development institutional development plans in higher education institutions. Extended undergraduate curricula to enable better success rates, with more comprehensive support (financial and academic) for students. National teacher development interventions in literacy in English and home language (pre & in-service). National teacher development of interventions to deepen teacher subject knowledge (pre & in-service).

Thank you