Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA) Archives
Durban - President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday that the government will work harder to ensure South African learners get the quality education they need.
The President was speaking during the first ever Sona to be held at the Cape Town City Hall following a fire that gutted the National Assembly last month.
“For the last two years, the education of our children and young people has been severely disrupted. As we return to normal educational activity, we will work harder to ensure that all learners and students get the quality education they need and deserve,” Ramaphosa said.
Despite facing numerous obstacles on the road to their final examination, the matric class of 2021 rose above adversity to achieve a 98.39% IEB pass rate and a 76.4% NSC pass rate.
The Covid-19 pandemic added to the list of challenges faced at some rural schools after a South African Human Rights Commission report into water and sanitation found that many schools are still without proper water and sanitation facilities.
Consistent rolling blackouts caused by Eskom’s load shedding caused many learners to study in the darkness, according to multiple reports.
More than 100 learning centres in KZN were damaged during the civil unrest that broke out in July.
In August last year, it was reported that the National Treasury had slashed the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Basic Education’s budget by R6.3 billion. The cut was reported across all provinces, but was hardest felt in KZN, according to Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu.
Mshengu said the cuts meant that schools would not have enough teachers.
jehran.naidoo@inl.co.za
Political Bureau