Education, the expensive key.

As children we are taught that you have to go to day-care, preschool, primary school, high school and then university. We don’t question the reasons why because that is what we have to do. We then attend primary school with one goal, to pass every year so that we can go to high school. In high school we do our assignments, exams and tests with the hopes of passing each grade to finally graduate to go to university. Why do we have to go to university?

The varsity protests have become more and more of a regular occurrence. Students are unsatisfied with the tertiary education system, especially their fees. They protest, burn buildings down and loot communal shops and stores as a means of forcing government’s hand to give in to their demands. Many parents struggle to get their children through primary and high school financially and depend on government and company scholarships and bursaries to pay for their children’s studies after their school careers.

In 22 years of democracy I find it difficult to believe that the South African government, for all its successes, has not developed and supported other kinds of education institutions. Say, if a learner passed matric with good marks but couldn’t afford varsity fees or didn’t receive a bursary, they could attend, for free, an institution that taught them valuable skills (plumbing, writing, computer lessons, etc.) This would make them employable and would not only contribute to the country’s economy but it would also increase the country’s working force. Parents of children in primary school already think about how they are going to give their children a good education, but there is no written statement that says “To have a good education, one must go to university.” This is the one thing that schools emphasise to their learners, and those who do not go to university end up feeling like failures at the end of the day.

We talk about how important education is, but stick to one way of giving that education instead of researching other ways and means to educate not only learners and students, but ourselves as well. Now is great time to talk and debate about how things are in regards with education in South Africa. This means a better future for SA and it’s something that we all have to seriously talk about.

Instead of waiting for government to think up ideas of what systems should be put into place to give better and affordable education for the masses who can’t afford university fees, let us as young people start to think of ideas that we can suggest to the government.

Let’s talk: What do you think about our current education system and what suggestions (if any) would you give to the government to better the system?

Written by Veronica Boyi

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6 Responses

@Ambuye Allen makowa....we cant help it if we are better and smarter than you.Get off your butt,stop complaining have a goal and archive it.What do we foreign students have to do with anything

Catherineee · 3 years ago

Eish South Africa's education system though😤😰🤔🤔

SisQueen · 3 years ago

Now I think the problem has been solved.There are a lot of bursaries offered it just completely depends on each and every learner to commit themselves to working hard to their best potentials to grab those bursaries and opportunities.The government has done so much, some things can't be layed on the government.

Dephney25 · 4 years ago

These foreghn students must go.

Ambuye allan makowa · 5 years ago

hi ... Education in south africa its serious probelm.universities a full of international students, you can only find 50% of RSA students and internationally 30 %, guys whats that? our government they dont care about as, students have dreams, hopesabout this country but they only turns to to be nyaopes in the streets.my fellows we need to about this but the right way. we what in the next 3 years mzanzi changed

lentswe · 8 years ago

Hi Thanks for this short and informative piece of writing. This is indeed a right time to discuss this issue. our education system in south Africa is a copy and paste of what is been done in the western capitalist countries. . This system does not addres bread and butter issues, it promotes the continuation of illiteracy in critical skills to grow the economy. Our education in ZA is very low especially in the basic education sector. . it promotes dependence instead of independence, it is a capitalist education, in fact it is not different from apartheid education, this education does not seek to amancipate a poor Black child, but it tighten the chains of slavery in poverty and exploitation. The will never do nothing about it even if we can suggest methods to curb this insufficiency in Quality education which is skills driven. . we as the people and Youth if this country must start educating ourselves without the universities, because they are expensive and are a waste if time, they are a formvof mental slavery and is high time we emancipate our selves from such slavery. . The only thing we need is advise and dedication to a course of Acquiring skills which will help us succeed and emprove the economy of South Africa, A south Africa which will create economic opportunities for future generations.. Skills Skills Skills.

Sonnyboy · 8 years ago