Report brands SA schools ‘dysfunctional’

A high-level panel of education experts has concluded that South African schools are largely “dysfunctional”.

In a report, commissioned by former minister of education Naledi Pandor, the Ministerial Committee on a National Education and Evaluation Development Unit found indications of “systematic collapse” in schools. “The committee has received consistent reports from schools about confusion, suspicion, and, at times outrage, about the underlying dysfunctionality of schools,” the report says.

“Teachers and principals report about time lost because of absentee teachers, incompetent principals, and under-prepared district officials. The culture of teaching and learning has, for all intents and purposes, disappeared, especially in rural and township schools.”

To resolve the problems, the committee, chaired by renowned educationalist Professor Jonathan Jansen, has recommended the promulgation of legislation “as soon as possible” to establish a permanent independent body to conduct monitoring and evaluation at all schools.

“The unit officials must be endowed with legal and political authority to enter classrooms for purposes of monitoring and evaluation,” the report says.

The report indicates that while teachers are often singled out, district and provincial authorities are also to blame for failing schools.

The committee’s attention was also drawn to the plethora of policies that require teachers to toil away at endless paperwork, taking the emphasis away from the classroom.

The report has been published for public comment.