Policy implementation gaps lead to skills gaps
12-03-2025
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South Africa’s illiteracy crisis will continue to deepen unless decisive steps are taken by government to address the limitations of the basic education system. While there are good basic education policies, and the political will exists to improve the school system, implementation of these mandates remains a challenge. This while the gap between basic education and the workplace continues to widen, exacerbating already high levels of unemployment, especially among South Africa’s youth.
A case in point is the School Progression Policy, geared at addressing high school dropout rates in the country. Although a well-intended policy, the way in which it has been implemented has contributed to poor matric results in some provinces. Many learners who have been progressed struggle to adapt to the social, emotional and intellectual demands of Grade 12. This while also grappling with low self-esteem, discouragement and frustration because they feel inadequate among learners who passed the previous grade.
If more time and resources are spent orientating these learners at the start of their academic year to better prepare them for Grade 12, the policy would have perhaps achieved the desired outcome. To realise their full academic potential, these learners need to be primed at personal, psychological, cultural and socio-economic levels. This orientation should also focus on fostering inclusiveness and a healthy learning environment for learners. Importantly, these learners also need continued support throughout their last school year. They need to be encouraged to discuss issues that prevent them from giving their best so that they are equipped with the knowledge that they need to navigate learning and keep pace with learners who passed the previous grade. These skills include organisational abilities; time management; an appreciation of learning styles; reading for specific purposes and comprehension; active listening; note taking; anxiety management; and examination. Notably, some of these “soft” proficiencies are also very high in demand in workplaces hence the focus on teaching them in a typical General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) in Adult Education and Training (AET) learnership for employees who have not completed their schooling. This is over-and-above the literacy and numeracy skills curricula of this learnership.
Providing this level of preparedness and counselling to progressed learners requires additional teaching resources while budgets for education are being cut. This is due to the rising teachers’ wage bill which, together with benefits, now accounts for 80% of total education spending. Annual real education spend per learner is expected to decline from
R24 000 in 2020 to R21 685 in 2025. In one province, alone, the contracts of 24 000 teachers were not renewed. While another province focused on retaining its teachers, it had to stop spending on various important educational programmes; school transportation and nutrition; and learning and teaching support material. At the start of 2025, there were 22 600 vacant posts for principals and their deputies; heads of departments; and teachers at public schools.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, for example, the budget deficit for education is R4-billion with more than 11 000 teaching jobs at risk. Public schools that service poor communities in the province are already understaffed. In some of these classrooms, there are 50 to 60 learners per teacher. These teachers also do not receive support and resources and are expected to do their jobs in less-than-adequate teaching environments. It can, therefore, be expected that education will not be up to standard at these schools. Notably, this is also the province with the largest functionally illiterate adult population. Stretched teachers cannot stimulate learners’ interest and instil critical thinking and problem-solving in the classroom. These are also ‘soft’ skills that employers are looking for especially in digitalised workplaces,” Marco Maree, a Training and Development Expert of Triple E Training, says.
Triple E Training is the country’s leading literacy and numeracy training provider to industry. These training solutions equip unskilled and low-skilled employees with workplace literacy proficiencies. The high learner progression rate through the company’s training programmes can be attributed to careful placement of learners at the correct adult literacy and numeracy training levels and the extensive preparation they undergo before the training starts. Throughout the programme, learners also receive support from their training facilitators, bearing in mind that many employees who did not complete school have learning disabilities. Classes are also suitably sized so that all learners receive the attention that they need and training is always facilitated at the workplace in environments suitable for learning. Some of the company’s clients have even set up so-called “adult basic education and training (ABET)” schools where adult literacy and numeracy training are facilitated and appointed ABET ambassadors who encourage wide participation in adult literacy and numeracy training.
Due to budget constraints, he questions the ability to execute new policies that are geared toward improving foundational education at the country’s schools, warning that this may further dilute focus on addressing the many challenges that beset the educational system.
Among these is the intention on introducing mandatory early childhood development (ECD) and compulsory Grade R at public schools as required by the Basic Education Laws and Amendment Act (BELA), which was recently signed into law.
As Maree points out, these two initiatives, alone, if executed correctly, should have a profound positive impact on the quality of education in the country. More than a million children are not prepared for Grade 1. This is in terms of their physical wellbeing, motor and social-emotional development; approaches to learning; language use and communication skills; and cognitive skills and general knowledge. They, therefore, cannot keep pace with formal learning leading to failure, discouragement and a poor self-esteem. This has a long-term impact on their academic performance. These individuals also grapple with these emotions as adults especially those with a very low basic education. Due to their low self-esteem; lack of confidence; and overall fear of learning; it is difficult to engage them in adult literacy and numeracy training. Hence, Triple E Training’s focus on awareness campaigns which aim to bolster employees’ confidence before they start adult literacy and numeracy training. Many employees who have had to start their learning journey at lower AET levels report that they struggled at school at a very early age; became discontented; and eventually dropped out.
Grade R will prepare learners for Grade 1 and formal schooling. This is by introducing them to a learning environment, routines and expectations, while also developing the basis of numeracy, literacy, communication and social interaction. However, these initiatives come at a high cost. Expanding schooling by adding a compulsory Grade R year is anticipated to cost about R56-billion. This includes the R5,3-billion required for personnel, counting aligning existing educators’ salaries and the appointment of additional Grade R educators to cater to an increase in enrolments. More than 19 767 ECD educators would need to be brought in line with conditions of service. Addressing the pay disparity will require an estimated R2,6-billion in the first year, alone. Assuming a 1:40 teacher-to-learner ratio, it is estimated that an additional 6 560 Grade R educators will be required at a cost of about R2,7-billion a year.
Then there are the associated infrastructure costs. Almost 1 000 schools have already indicated their intentions to introduce Grade R classes, many of which are in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. This, alone, will require about R12,5-billion, discarding an already high school infrastructure backlog, with many schools left without water and sanitation, as well as electricity.
He refers to another sound initiative that may not achieve the desired result due to the way in which it is being implemented. This is the introduction of an exit examination qualification at the end of Grade 9 for learners who want to pursue occupational or vocational training or start working. After passing Grade 9, these individuals will be awarded a GETC, as opposed to leaving school with nothing to show for the level of education that they have already attained – as is currently the case.
In order for this to be successful, industry should have been widely consulted. This is considering the move away from employing unskilled and low-skilled employees – even for entry-level work. If the GETC is simply viewed as an exit qualification by learners, dropouts will increase and many more South Africans will join the labour market without marketable skills. Most employees who hold a GETC in AET from Triple E Training have been encouraged to continue learning by their employers to remain relevant at the company. This is because a National Qualifications Framework 1 qualification is no longer sufficient in many industries, especially those that are increasingly automating and mechanising.
Another concern is that many learners who only attained Grade 9 currently struggle to be admitted by Technical Education and Vocational and Training colleges. These colleges give preference to National Senior Certificate holders because they have higher literacy and numeracy skills, making learning a trade much easier. Sub-standard literacy and numeracy skills prevent many employees from accessing a qualification even if they a very proficient at what they do. This is exacerbating the shortage of qualified artisans in the country and contributing to high youth unemployment.
The success of the system also relies on the provision of improved career guidance at school, which has been sorely lacking. This is, again, due to insufficient resources at many of our public schools. A decision to exit school after completing Grade 9 cannot be made without proper guidance from experts.
“There were a few reform measures that were introduced in the 2000s that were successful, but they were not sustained which, again, points to a problem on the ground. Despite spending the equivalent of 6% of our gross-domestic product on education which is equivalent to most the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, results remain poor. We are constantly at the bottom of all international tables on learning outcomes, namely reading comprehension, maths and science. The focus should, therefore, turn to execution and the policy implementation gap that thwarts good initiatives that are aimed at solving a disaster of the economic era,” Maree concludes.
For more information contact:
David Poggiolini
Debbie Poggiolini
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