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Education in South Africa

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Country profile

At the time the SACMEQ III research project was conducted the population of South Africa had grown to approximately 49 million people. This was an increase of 8.2 percent on the 1996 statistics which were used in SACMEQ II research. According to the Community Survey 2007, the percentage of the population who were 20 years and older and had post-school qualifications (above Grade 12) was 9.1 percent, which was an increase of 3.1 percent in the period between 1996 and 2007. In the same age category the percentage of the population whose highest qualification was primary school only had decreased from 24% to 5.9 percent while the percentage of those who had no schooling at all had dropped from 19% to 10.3% in the same period.

Although there had been significant strides taken to transform the nation from the pre-1994 apartheid political, social and economic divisions and inequalities, by the time of SACMEQ III South Africa was still confronted with a mix of successes and challenges on the educational front in particular. Key among the successes has been remarkable improvements in opening up access to basic education for the majority of children of school-going age. South Africa’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) stood at 99% in 2007, which was virtually unchanged since the SACMEQ II study. The main challenge that remained almost intact was improving the levels and quality of educational outcomes as measured by the Reading and Mathematics Rasch scores obtained by the Grade 6 learners in SACMEQ tests.

 

Demographics*:

Total population:
 49 752 000 (2009)
Annual population growth:
 1.1% (2009)
Rural population:
 39% (2009)

*latest data as of 2009 from UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

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Education Fact Sheet

Minister of Basic Education: Hon. Angie MOTSHEKGA

Education System:

The structure of the South African school system comprises three (3) broad bands, viz. the General Education and Training (GET), Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education (HE) which spanned Level 1, Levels 2-4 and Levels 5-8, respectively, on the National Qualification Framework (NQF). This arrangement remained virtually unchanged between the SACMEQ II and SACMEQ III studies.

A new structural arrangement was the full scale inclusion of Grade R (five to six year olds) into the mainstream public school system. Prior to 2007 the provision of Grade R was a shared responsibility between two government departments: the Department of Education and the Department of Social Welfare. This arrangement proved non-viable since accountability often got lost in this duality, particularly in the areas of who should provide appropriate human and material resources. The revised arrangement meant that the Department of Education took full responsibility for providing education to this category of children.

In 2007 there were approximately 26 065 schools that provided education to over 12 million learners in South Africa. Four percent of the schools were independent or privately run. The total number of educators who served all the schools was 394 225.

Management and Administration of Education

The constitution of the Republic of South Africa assigns the administration of public education in South Africa to both the national Ministry of Education and the nine (9) provincial departments. In practice the national department develops policies while provincial departments are charged with the responsibility to implement the policies.

The administrative tier between the province and the school is the district or region in some instances. Being at the point where the education system interfaces directly with learning sites, districts are ideally positioned to provide administrative and professional support to schools. Districts are expected to provide management and professional support to schools to improve and maintain high quality teaching and learning standards.

See the SACMEQ reports for more information.

For more information and additional reports, please see the South Africa Ministry of Basic Education Website.

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South Africa - Trends in Reading and Math Achievement Levels

SA_S3

 

SACMEQ II (2000) and SACMEQ III (2007) Reading achievement

Percentage of Grade 6 pupils at each level:

   
2000
2007
Level 1 Pre Reading
12.2%
9.9%
Level 2 Emergent Reading
18.8%
17.3%
Level 3 Basic Reading
19.1%
21.1%
Level 4 Reading for Meaning
16.0%
14.7%
Level 5 Interpretive Reading
9.4%
10.6%
Level 6 Inferential Reading
7.0%
9.6%
Level 7 Analytical Reading
10.9%
10.2%
Level 8 Critical Reading
6.6%
6.6%

 

SACMEQ II (2000) and SACMEQ III (2007) Math achievement

Percentage of Grade 6 pupils at each level:

   
2000
2007
Level 1 Pre Numeracy
7.8%
5.5%
Level 2 Emergent Numeracy
44.4%
34.7%
Level 3 Basic Numeracy
23.8%
29%
Level 4 Beginning Numeracy
8.8%
15.4%
Level 5 Competent Numeracy
6.1%
7.1%
Level 6 Mathematically Skilled
5.8%
5.9%
Level 7 Concrete Problem Solving
2.1%
1.9%
Level 8 Abstract Problem Solving
1.3%
0.6%

For more country statistics, see also:

  • StatPlanet - Explore data through Maps and Graphs

SACMEQ Indicators (2007)

 
PUPIL PERFORMANCE ON ALL ITEMS

SACMEQ III
READING
MATHEMATICS
REGION
MEAN
SE
MEAN
SE
EASTERN CAPE
447.8
10.13
468.8
10.31
FREE STATE
491.1
12.48
491.6
10.08
GAUTENG
573.1
14.39
545.0
11.99
KWA ZULU NATAL
485.6
10.56
485.2
8.22
MPUMULANGA
473.6
11.13
476.1
8.19
NORTHERN CAPE
505.6
12.56
498.7
10.83
LIMPOPO
425.3
7.68
446.7
5.25
NORTH WEST
506.3
14.19
503.1
13.14
WESTERN CAPE
583.4
11.08
565.7
12.01
SOUTH AFRICA
494.9
4.55
494.8
3.81
 
SUB-GROUPS
READING
MATHEMATICS
 
MEAN
SE
MEAN
SE
GENDER        
BOYS
483.5
4.68
491.2.1
4.12
GIRLS
506.0
4.77
498.4
3.85
 
SOCIO-
ECONOMIC LEVEL 		       
LOW SES
423.2
3.80
446.2
4.80
HIGH SES
605.6
5.91
578.6
5.74
 
SCHOOL LOCATION        
RURAL
440.8
3.96
456.7
3.78
URBAN
549.2
6.77
533.1
5.71
SOUTH AFRICA
494.9
4.55
494.8
3.81

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SACMEQ Reports

  • SACMEQ III National Report:
Year
Authors
Title
2010

Moloi, M. Q. & Chetty, M.

 The SACMEQ III Project in South Africa: A Study of the Conditions of Schooling and the Quality of Education. Pretoria: Ministry of Basic Education.
  • SACMEQ II National Report:
Year
Authors
Title
2005

Moloi, M., & Strauss, J.

 The SACMEQ II Project in South Africa: A Study of the Conditions of Schooling and the Quality of Education. Harare: SACMEQ.
  • SACMEQ National Policy Briefs:
Year
Authors
Title
2011
Moloi, M. Q. & Chetty, M
2011
Moloi, M. Q. & Chetty, M
2011
Moloi, M. Q. & Chetty, M
2011
Van der Berg, S. & Moses, E.
2011
Moloi, M. Q. & Chetty, M
2011
Moloi, M. Q. & Chetty, M.
2011
Moloi, M. Q. & Chetty, M

 

Research Papers and Theses

Year
Author(s)
Title
2012
Nicholas Spaull
 Equity & Efficiency in South African primary schools : a preliminary analysis of SACMEQ III South Africa, Masters Thesis, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
2011
Nicholas Spaull

Primary School Performance in Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa. SACMEQ Working Paper Nr. 8
2008
Nethengwe M.E.
2006
Servaas van der Berg
 Lessons learnt from SACMEQ II: South African student performance in regional context, Paper for DBSA/HSRC/Wits NEPAD Conference “Investment Choices for Education In Africa” September 19-21 2006, Johannesburg
2006
Crain Soudien
 Disaffected or displaced? A brief analysis of the reasons for academic failure amongst young South Africans, The International Journal on School Disaffection, 4(1).
2005
Martin Gustafsson
 "The Relationship between Schooling Inputs and Outputs in South Africa: Methodologies and Policy Recommendations Based on the 2000 SACMEQ Dataset." Masters Thesis, Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
2005
Martin Gustafsson
 The Relationship between Schooling Inputs and Outputs in South Africa: Methodologies and Policy Recommendations Based on the 2000 SACMEQ Dataset. Paper presented to the International Invitational Educational Policy Research Conference, Paris, France, 28 September 2 October, 2005.
2005
Meshack Moloi
 Mathematics Achievement in South Africa: A Comparison of the Official Curriculum with Pupil Performance in the SACMEQ II Project. Paper presented to the International Invitational Educational Policy Research Conference, Paris, France, 28 September 2 October, 2005.
2005
V. Scherman et al.
 The Influence of Reading and Mathematics Goals on the Achievement of South African Learners: Some Lessons Learned from SACMEQ II. Paper presented to the International Invitational Educational Policy Research Conference, Paris, France, 28 September 2 October, 2005.
2005
J. Strauss
 A Model for Evaluating South Africa’s Education System Based on SACMEQ Research Data. Paper presented to the International Invitational Educational Policy Research Conference, Paris, France, 28 September 2 October, 2005.
2005
Servaas van der Berg
 How Efficient are Poor Schools? Poverty and Educational Outcomes in South Africa. Paper presented to the International Invitational Educational Policy Research Conference, Paris, France, 28 September 2 October, 2005.

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