Education is often heralded as society’s “great equalizer,” but in South Africa the reality is complicated. Although enrollment is high, many students do not enjoy consistent access to quality schooling. After the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela and his government launched sweeping reforms to eliminate racially segregated schooling, redirect funding and provide public educational access to all races. Today, South Africa spends more on education as a proportion of GDP than most African nations. However, significant performance gaps and low learning outcomes continue to undermine that investment.
Learning Outcomes and the Crisis in Reading
According to the 2024 Review of Progress in the Basic Education Sector, schooling in South Africa remains overwhelmingly public: in 2023, only around 5% of learners were enrolled in independent (private) schools. Public schools also endure chronic infrastructure deficits. One analysis found that 86% of public schools lack laboratories, 77% have no library, and 72% lack reliable internet connectivity. Another report discovered that many rural school buildings are in a state of disrepair, harming safety and learning. Meanwhile, in ICT access, more than 50% of students attend schools with no computers or tablets in classrooms, and limited internet access further blocks digital learning integration.
Unsurprisingly, the outcomes are bleak. A 2024 Reading Panel report revealed that 81% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language, a stark reminder of the learning crisis affecting the system. Additionally, the World Bank warns that nearly 80% of learners in Grade 4 cannot properly understand what they read as of 2021. In international assessments, South Africa’s TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science) 2023 results placed the nation last among 59 participating countries for Grade 4 math (362 points) and science (308 points), both well below the 400 minimum proficiency threshold.
Reform Efforts, New Legislation, and Looking Ahead
Teacher capacity remains a key bottleneck. Many instructors lack subject mastery or training in best practices, especially in mathematics and science. Studies have highlighted that despite official policy for ICT integration, insufficient internet access in classrooms disincentivizes use of digital teaching tools. In many schools, long hours, overcrowded classes, and lack of basic supplies add stress. Unsafe school environments exacerbate the problem: one study claimed that 15.3% of primary school children had experienced violent assaults or robbery. Infrastructure instability also poses risks – some rural schools are literally unsafe, with broken buildings, leaking roofs and inadequate sanitation.
South Africa is taking steps to address these issues. In 2024, Parliament passed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA), making Grade R (reception year – the year of schooling before Grade 1) compulsory and increasing the legal school age requirement, mandating attendance until Grade 9 or age 15. The government has also implemented reforms to bolster accountability and prioritize reading recovery programs.
One of these programs is the national Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS), launched by the Department of Basic Education to test interventions such as classroom coaching, scripted lesson plans, and targeted teacher support to improve students’ reading in home language and English. In pilot schools, those exposed to the “coaching intervention” model scored approximately 40% of a school year ahead of comparable peers in schools without the intervention.
South Africa’s education system is a paradox: decent enrollment and high spending, yet deeply unequal learning. To turn this around, the country must double down on teacher training, safer infrastructure, and bridging the digital divide. The newly passed BELA law is promising, but execution will require continuous funding and monitoring. Only by shifting from access to outcomes can education fulfill its role as a force for equality, rather than a driver of inequality.
– Jeff Zhou
Photo: Flickr
