Edwin Naidu heads Higher Education Media Services shares his insights. Photographer: Armand Hough / Independent Media
Edwin Naidu
SOUTH Africans are braced for that annual circus celebrating mediocrity. There’s a new circus mistress in town. As part of the Government of National Unity, Siviwe Gwarube, the Democratic Alliance Minister of Basic Education, decides when she wants to put on a united frock in the national interest.
She boycotted President Cyril Ramaphosa's signing of the BELA Bill in September 2024, indicating that the DA came before the nation. Unfortunately, the president has shown no mettle in acting against anyone who defies him—or the country.
On 13 January, she will announce the 2024 National Senior Certificate results.
Given the ANC’s pathetic showing at the polls in May 2024, one can be forgiven for thinking that President Ramaphosa is a lame-duck leader. Smile and wave, pretend everything is fine while Rome is burning, to borrow the cliché. In the story of Rome, a fire burned most of the city, but Emperor Nero played music rather than saving the city.
South Africa is currently in the grip of a severe unemployment crisis, with a staggering 12.2 million people without jobs. This dire situation is further compounded by escalating poverty and inequality. The rising living costs, including inflation, food, and fuel, are making it increasingly challenging for people to make ends meet. The urgency of this crisis cannot be overstated.
Shockingly, in 2024, 17 million people aged 15 to 60 were not in employment or education and training (NEETS). Thus, returning to the analogy about someone “fiddling while Rome is burning,” the government is ignoring serious problems for which it is responsible.
The klap at the polls should have cajoled the ANC into doing better regarding its failed 1994 promise of “a better life for all”. In its arrogant years, the ANC disregarded public sentiment about its role in corruption, putting citizens first and making South Africa great. It views criticism as being racist and anti-patriotic.
Today, it is in bed with those it once considered the enemy in a government of national unity that seems to have taken South Africa back to apartheid. This is because the ANC took supporters for granted, underestimated public anger around corruption and Eskom's failures, potholed roads, failing infrastructure at the local government level, and ordinary people's frustration, and many ask whether the ANC will survive the next election.
Oblivious, President Ramaphosa continues to operate at a high level, engaging with world leaders and playing host at G20 talkshops on our shores, for example, while being out of touch and removed from citizens. If the ANC were in sync with what would make South Africa great, it would not have fared so poorly at the last election, hanging on by a thread in a fractured government of national unity, which is anything but.
Similarly, the razzmatazz-like announcement of the National Senior Certificate results is an opportunity for the Department of Basic Education to celebrate success and gloss over failure. The top matriculants will make the headlines and get bursaries from the best universities. The failures won’t be forgotten, too. They will be offered work-based skills training programmes via Sector Education Training Authorities, which should equip them for a life of mediocrity. So much for a better life for all?
When South Africans participated in People's Forums in 1994, they were promised “a better life for all”. Many wondered how the ANC would create jobs, build houses, provide water and electricity, and provide education. Other key concerns were safety and security, as well as healthcare. While it may sound harsh, the delivery in 30 years after democracy has not, by its low standards, made a reasonable dent in South African society. Progress has been made for the ANC-haves, while the majority of have-nots are unemployed or stuck in poverty.
That key vehicle, known as the Reconstruction and Development Programme, no longer exists, suggesting that a better life for all was politicking, considering the millions of jobless and poverty-stricken citizens. Its replacement, a five-year plan, the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR), which focused on privatisation and removing exchange controls, can hardly be labelled a success either.
GEAR became known for its austerity measures, which saw drastic cutbacks in education, forcing institutions to do more with less. In the meantime, the government helped create new fatcats, and daily, one sees how out of touch with reality they are, too. The rot starts at the top, where it comfortably stays.
The matric examination serves as an annual reminder of how society celebrates short-term gains that put the country on the road to long-term ruin. Instead of honouring those with distinctions, there should be a probe into why an estimated 300,000 learners annually do not leave with a matric certificate. It’s brilliant, but can multiple distinctions and a selfie with the minister help one? As they say, asking for a friend?
Given the billions pumped annually into education, the government must do more to ensure that more learners leave the system with the ability to go further. Even though an average of 122,000 students can study at tertiary institutions annually, the failing Technical and Vocational Training colleges must be strengthened to meet the country's needs. Their courses must be relevant for the 21st century. They also need lecturers with work experience in the subjects they teach. We must also understand why they fail to meet the country’s needs.
Celebrating 30 years of democracy is not enough. We must urgently return to the drawing board and critically evaluate how our education system can effectively tackle the country's unemployment crisis. We must revisit the forgotten Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) as the basis for creating a better life for all. It's not a time for celebration but for action and change.
A glimmer of hope courtesy of the Technological Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA), which has embarked on a significant project with Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and other Universities of Technology in South Africa and Namibia:
THENSA, in collaboration with the CPUT, has been awarded a grant to establish a South African Entrepreneurship Venture Builder (EVB). The Centre for Business Innovation and Incubation (BiiC) will set up the infrastructure for establishing the EVB, which will attempt to identify and address the barriers to entrepreneurship development in the short, medium, and long term. While the project goes live later this month, there must be a broader, urgent conversation on why South Africa faces such low start-up success levels.
The government should examine its regulations that make opening a business such a minefield. These regulations require compliance adherence that only keeps lawyers and tax consultants happy. The government should also be concerned about the many small businesses that fail. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported more than 370 business liquidations in the second quarter of 2024. This hinders the economy and affects job creation.
Failure must be analysed, and its reasons used to turn things around. Instead, statistics are accepted as par for the course, whether the pass rate sits above 80 per cent or another 300,000 join the ranks of the unemployed. Let’s hope the matric euphoria truthfully sketches the layer of the land rather than provides fake celebrations. Why do we always seem to have analysis paralysis at this time of the year? When celebrating those who deservedly obtained their distinctions, please spare a thought for those allowed to get 30 per cent for at least two subjects en route to matric. It’s a mess.
It's time to look the other way as South Africa prepares to celebrate matric mediocrity when what is needed is an honest assessment of why we continue to get it wrong.
* Edwin Naidu heads Higher Education Media Services, is a communications expert and writes a regular blog.
** The view expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.
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