by Annette

Created on: April 20, 2008   Last Updated: May 24, 2009

Outcome based Education (OBE) and Further Education and Training (FET) are the new strategies implemented by the post-apartheid government in an attempt to standardise education in South Africa.

While there is nothing wrong, with the system, the implementation didn't go as smoothly as expected. There is no easy answer as to why there are so many problems with the new educational system.

OBE is used in the lower grades from grade 1 to 9. The idea is to facilitate the pupil to explore, discover, evaluate and create. Unfortunately many teachers were firmly stuck in their old ways and couldn't or didn't want to adhere to the transformation process. The Department of Education was not able to provide quality training and that aggravated the situation. The FET training was of a higher standard but still lacks in many ways.

South Africa has an enormous shortage in teachers and it is expected to be in the region of 94 000 by 2015. In certain subjects like languages, mathematics and science it is presently already very difficult to find qualified and skilled teachers. Most teachers with BSC degrees prefer to find jobs in the private sector where they can earn more than double. Many teachers leave the country to teach overseas with much better prospects than in South Africa.

Urban schools are mostly well equipped and full staffed. In rural areas the picture is much more gloomy. Many schools still don't have the necessary equipment. Some schools lack the basics like a desk and chair for each pupil, not to speak of text books, copiers and fax machines. Computers are a luxury for the teachers and administration staff and virtually non-existent for learners.

While most teachers are committed and go the extra mile to attend to learners needs, a large amount of teachers are not qualified for the subjects they teach. This leads to discipline problems. In many rural areas teachers are so discouraged by the lack of facilities and their own needs for additional training that they stay away from school for long periods of time. In a recent letter from a teacher in a rural area to the Sunday Times it was mentioned that it happens very often that children are send home regularly due to a lack of teachers at school.

Even though the official pass rate for grade 12 was set at 62,5% for 2008, the South African Institute of Race Relations claims it be as so low as 36,2%. According to their analysis of the 920 716 learners that were in grade 11 in 2007 only 533 561 made it to grade 12 in 2008 of which only 333 681 passed. Only 107 462 of these pupils attained the necessary marks to enroll for an undergraduate study at a university. In other words only 20% of the learners that wrote the matriculation exams were able to enroll for further studies at a university.

Tertiary Institutions are not better off at all.The Human Sciences Research Council's recent study of about 34 000 students showed that of this amount, only 14 000 students graduated, with some 20 000 dropping out of their courses. In terms of percentages not even 10% of the learners that wrote the matric exams would then graduated.

The new goverment elected in April this year has an enormous task at hand that should take priority. If these numerous problems are not addressed soon, the country which is already suffering because of a lack of necessary skills will fall even more behind in development.

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