Written by DR ROOKSANA RAJAB
There is no doubt that South Africa faces serious challenges in our current education and training system. Despite public spending on education is 6.4% of GDP (while the average share in EU countries is 4.8%) several challenges facing the education system in South Africa remain. Of the approximately one million learners who started grade 1 in 2003, only 49 percent made it to matric in 2014. The challenges are commonly attributed to poor school infrastructure, poor learning conditions, and a lack of learning materials. In a 2015 report by the OECD, South Africa’s education system was ranked the second-worst among 76 countries (Hanushek and Woessmann, 2015).
We must accept that the quality of education is pivotal for the production of human capital. Our newly sworn-in President Ramaphosa emphasized in his 2018 State of the Nation address last week, that we must as a nation, address the scourge of unemployment. He spoke to what we yearn for as a nation. I am encouraged by the new hope offered by our new leader who is now at the helm of our country. I see this as a new opportunity afforded to all of us. We are certainly at a crossroad.
Given this background, I had the pleasure of being invited to be the sparring partner of Prof Paul Evans of INSEAD at a workshop organised by the HR Think Tank of which I am a member. Prof. Evans is a graduate of Cambridge University, has an MBA from INSEAD and a PhD in Management and Organisational Psychology from MIT together with extensive experience in working with large multi-national corporates as an organisational development expert.
Prof. Paul Evans with Dr. Rooksana Rajab at the HR Think Tank
So you can imagine my delight at being asked to give my input at such a presentation and discussion forum so that we could all weave our thoughts to create a path forward. Representatives of some SETAs. One TVET college and several large corporates participated in the workshop. In all my years of working both in policy development and implementation within the education and training space and subsequently specialising in talent management for organisational development, it has become glaringly clear that the dominant voices within the room are from the sector that organises the workshop, conference or seminar.
What do I mean by this?
My observation is this: if the Minister of Higher Education plans a conference or a workshop, the majority of the participants are from the public sector. Subsequently, the dominant voices are from the same sector. The outcomes of the workshop are based on the engagement of majority number of participants with similar views.
On the other hand, if the workshop/ seminar is hosted by the business sector, the largest number of participants are from that sector and the dominant voices share the same business views.
Is this a coincidence or is this by design?
Is it possible, perhaps for all stakeholders to get together as a collective to share our thoughts, ideas and experiences to find solutions to our challenges within the education and training system? The coordination and collaboration between the different role-payers cannot be left to chance if we are to reshape and grow an Education System that allows South Africa to negate and solve the current systems challenges.
The interests of all stakeholders should be aligned to support the common goal of achieving good educational outcomes that are responsive and sensitive to community needs and economic development.
Can we hope that finally all stakeholders will collaborate and pursue the same vision of the National development Plan 2030?
Learning under a tree, should only be a reality in South Africa where the observation of nature enhances the learning experiences. It is time that South Africa rises to the challenge of creating the future we hoped for in 1994.
Let us get together and discuss the future of our children. We require a sense of purpose and direction capable of guiding implementers in making everyday choices about what actions should be taken in order to produce the best results for the future generation.
I am in.
Are you?
I encourage you to send me your comments.
Let us know what you think.
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