A recent study conducted by a South African survey showed that the country invests more money into public education than any other emerging market, yet we still have high levels of illiteracy.

It is no doubt that the South African education system is a disgrace and a scandal, a scandal in sense that we are a country that seems to not take education very seriously.

If one can look at countries such as Zimbabwe and Tanzania, they have excellent learning systems and it is apparent that they take their education and their youth seriously. It is a tragedy because these countries are much poorer than we are. The government invests a lot of money into the education, yet we still cannot seem to get it right.

So one can ask oneself, what is the problem here? With a R130 billion budget where does all the money and investments go when schools in the Eastern Cape remain in appalling conditions?  From staff shortage to textbook scandals to then a shockingly low pass rate. Where does this then leave the youth?

Thousands of learners will never reach their full potential because they are living in a country where the government does not put the needs of the youth first.

South Africans need to start taking action against the abuse of the system, because with the high levels of illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and HIV/AIDS, we cannot afford to accept a failing education system.


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Please note: The views expressed in this article do not reflect the views of Global Edge Media and are the opinions of the writer involved.