sustainable economic development
Abstract
This assignment seeks to consider the facts, challenges, dimensions and strategies on how education can play a pivotal role in sustainable economic development. It considers three different perspectives of dimensions as researched globally and now applicable in the South African context. It also discusses the concepts of how education can be applicable and of great assistance for self-reliance to address the skills shortage and job creation challenges in South Africa. It further discusses the research agenda that focusses more on alleviation or rather eradication on poverty and inequality. It then focusses on how education can be regarded as the potential sector in reducing unemployment and skills shortage that are prevailing in South Africa. We further consider the aspects of various challenges that play an impact on sustaining development in a South African context and analyse how possible strategies may assist in overcoming these challenges. In the assignment, however we will single out education and explore its fundamental role in sustainable development. The Millennium Development Goals include education as an element of sustainable economic. Our research will show that there is a strong relationship between education and development.
Introduction
In our view sustainable economic development in education from 2009-2013 was only made possible by the treasury in allocating a budget for supporting and spearheading the process. Thus one cannot talk of sustainable development without referring to the fiscal budget and moreover that improvement of education in our country is primarily the vital role of government. Thus fiscal budget plays an important part in sustaining educational economic development; we shall reflect how money was allocated to education from the period 2009 to 2013. And a graphical scenario shall be given to prove our plight. When Nelson Rolihlanhla Mandela took over from the apartheid regime and his cabinet they declare free education to all disadvantaged individuals and all our findings shall come from that background where one education system was introduced for all citizens.
In this assignment we shall look into the means and ways on how the democratic government took in making sure that those initiated proposals which were passed in cabinet as laws are maintained.
We shall also look into how the ministers of education took turns in changing the countries curriculum since 1994. Truly these changes in curriculum confuse the educators and children because educators had to attend courses and were forced to implement immediately after training. The above statement tempts us to infer that the bulk of the allocated funds were spending on training rather than on children’s benefit. We witnessed the following curriculum changes since 1994 namely: curriculum 2000, Outcome Based Education (OBE), National Curriculum Standards (NCS) and we’re now in CAPS.
We shall dwell much on the classification of schools into quintiles as a measure of how much must be allocated to a particular school. Many schools in South Africa are full to capacity by children whom their parents cannot afford nor have it tough to bring food to the table on daily basis thus the department of education also introduces feeding schemes to schools particularly primaries and that project needs to be maintained and supported.
We shall also look into how the dimension of sustainable economic development namely economic, social and environmental helps to shape up development and also as a measure on how far are we in closing skills shortage and unemployment gaps.
In 1998, the than minister of education Prof Kader Asmal introduces section 21 whereby he gave schools financial independency in terms of procurement of Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM). The reason for this was solely on the basis that teachers has to stay in class and procurement had to be done by small & medium business enterprises, that in itself introduces supply chain which was done by those businesses. Many people got an opportunity to open up business just to supply textbooks and stationeries to schools and as a result of that employment was created.
We saw in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces many non-section 21 schools uses Edusolutions for procurement. Currently it is now procuring for all schools.
And how sustainable economic development in education can be seen as a drive for sustainable employment. Education has indeed employed a huge number of people be it administrators, educators, principals, subject advisors etc. The challenges that the department of education is facing in sustaining the initiatives as well as the possible strategies shall be looked at.
Applying the education for self-reliance concept to address the skills shortage and job creation challenges in South Africa.
It is imperative to see education in South Africa as self-reliance and also as an alternative for addressing skills shortage and job creations as the two are fundamental concerns in reducing the unemployment rate. The question ‘How is Education for Self Reliance a viable solution to South Africa’s skills shortage and job creation?’ still needs to be answered.
An overview of the South African situation in relation to skills paucity and job creation is given to put these questions into perspective. Thereafter, specific suggestions on how to address the skills shortage and job creation challenge will be made.
Since the democratic dispensation the government has embark on numerous curriculum changes. The first Minister of Education by the name of Dr Sibusiso Bengu the late introduced what we call curriculum 2000. Towards the end of 1997 Prof Kader Asmal who succeded Dr Sibusiso Bengu introduced Out Based Education (OBE). We then saw Naledi Pandor came into the picture DURING Thabo Mbeki’s tenure and she introduces National Curriculum Standards (NCS).
When Jacob Zuma took over he appointed Mme Angie Motshega and the latter introduces CAPS. In all of these changes the educators and learners were culprits in that they had to adopt with rapid changes that were emanating as a result of those changes. After attending every workshop the educators were compelled to implement and the children were to consume what was imparted to them. In relation to the concept of education for self-reliance to address the skills shortage one can realise that the confusion caused by changes in curriculum really do not contribute positively in the reduction of skill shortage.
The South African curriculum has been designed along the lines of the constitution of the Republic. The new democratic dispensation declares free basic education for all.
The purpose of schooling, that is, what the government seeks to achieve as expressed in the state vision and mission is expected to be realized, inter alia, through the schools’ contribution. This is in line with the school of thought who holds that “As is the state so is the school, what you want in the state, you must put into the school”. However, in terms of the economics of education, we need to ascertain if there could be justification for costs in relation to benefits to society.
The traditional economics of education assumed that expenditure on education would pay for itself by the economic activity it would generate. (Freire’s 1968, 15) assertion could be helpful in evaluating the impact school leavers make in society.
South Africa like many other developing nations’ participation in the global economy is rather at a disadvantage as it has a very high rate of unemployment, low-skilled labour force and the inequitable distribution of resources by the apartheid government has not been reversed yet. Our skills profile of our labour force is poor and uncompetitive in the global economy (Erasmus and Steyn, 2002:9. Erasmus and Steyn, 2002:14).
The minimal number of professionals and skilled is as a results of lack of skills in the workforce which restrict their opportunities of being employable. There are many contributing factors to that if one has to consider the segregation of departments of education by the apartheid regime.
This has (Twalo, 2010:838) also led to a global reduction of job opportunities. Erasmus & Steyn (2002) note that, this situation is also aggravated by the shift from primary production (agriculture and mining) and secondary production (manufacturing) to tertiary production (trade and commercial services). They delineate how different phases of the economy operate. The factor driven economy is based on basic factors of production like agriculture and mineral resources. The investment driven economy is characterized by secondary production processes and prevalent use of technology which makes unskilled labour redundant as their job is done by automatic devices. The innovation driven economy is characterised by sophisticated consumer demands, high levels of personal incomes, education and desire for convenience. Improved technology and advanced use of automated machinery which require highly skilled technicians and engineers are also key features of this phase and it is the tertiary production processes that meet its demands. Decreased production costs and increased production levels due to technological innovations further lessen the demand for unskilled labour.
The last stage wealth driven stage is characterised by competition on prices and downsizing by industries.
The continuous decrease of the primary and secondary sector contributions in the economy and continuous increase of tertiary sector contribution implies that there is a continuous change of requirements for skills in the labour market.
The changes in the education and training sector have unfortunately not been commensurate with those in the labour market.
The skills inappropriateness and inadequacy of the South African workforce has been hindering its economic success in the global economy. This then requires an up to date linkage of education and training to meet the market demands and avoid mis-skilling (imparting skills that are in excess in society when there is a serious lack of skills that are in demand) and consequently unemployment. The inability to match education and training to the society’s needs as well as the country’s low educational profile has significantly contributed to the high unemployment rate. The field of maths and science as well as vocational education have not been drawing as much interest as they should among learners in the South African education system, hence the shortage of skills that are in demand (Department of Home Affairs, 2006).
In a country that annually spends around 20 percent of the total government expenditure on education and has 12,3 million learners (26% of the total population) and more than a million students (2% of the total population) in tertiary institutions it is difficult to justify such a high rate of skills shortage and low rate of job creation.
This status quo could, inter alia, be attributed to the education system’s failure to effectively respond to skills demand and supply in the country. (Thompson 1981, 96 and Forojalla 1993, 34) both identify mis-skilling as one of the factors contributing to the growing level of educated unemployed. This inevitably results in poor education investments as some of the rewards are forfeited. The production of students with skills that are less desired by the economy creates a workforce with inappropriate skills and increases the reserved army of labour which consequently fuels social, economic and psychological ills like different forms of crime and low self-esteem.
The changing global and national circumstances necessitate that communities proactively devise means to sustain themselves. Evidently, government services are inadequate in terms of addressing the socio-economic needs of the people due to, inter alia, poor planning, inadequate service delivery, high-inflation, debt burden, corruption and globalisation. South Africans thus have to look at additional and more creative ways of self-reliance or what some people choose to refer to as development from below or development from within or local economic development (Erasmus & Steyn, 2002: 9).
Dimensions of sustainable economic development
Economic dimension
The economic dimension can be define as the ability of an economic system to create a constant and improving the growth of its economic indicators, and also generating income and creating employment for individuals, is formulated around neoclassical shareholder primacy theory and it also suggests that mainly the responsibility of businesses is to maximize its profits for their shareholders. the economic view also has similar characteristics with the industrialist World-wide view whereby humankind has power over nature and the pursuit of financial growth is imminent (Nga & Soo, 2010: 3).
Mainly looking into Adam Smith he argued in The Wealth of Nations that individuals are led by the invisible hand that serves the society at best by being self-interested in utility maximization therefore economic dimension is important. Economic dimension is essential in particular to growth of education in our economy that can assist in promoting our country to be productive through having skilled labourers, because mainly if the economy of our country is experiencing growth this enables government to increase its spending in the education sector and thus leads to an efficient educational strategies being initiated, such as:
The National Skills Development Strategy which focusses on certain challenges that impact the economy to expand and lead to employment opportunities:
The insufficient skills levels, and many young individuals leaving formal high school and tertiary education and entering the labour market. This leads to the reduction of employability and work readiness of individuals and graduates from Further Education & Training (FET) and Higher Education & Training (HET) institutions, also including those without proper qualifications.
Many of individuals lack basic numeracy and literacy, do not have entry-level skills and work experience and work-based training.
To improve the skills level of graduates of secondary and tertiary education.
To address skills shortages in artisanal, technical and professional fields.
To reduce the over-emphasis on National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 1-3 learner-ships
To equip those in the workforce with sufficient technological skills
To improve co-operation between universities, further education and training colleges and sector education and training authorities (SETA)
To support economic growth and development through viable skills development
To develop sufficient skills for rural development
Social dimension
It is defined as the ability to ensure the welfare and also the distribution of equity among social classes and gender, social sustainability tries to explain how different stakeholders interact efficiently towards achieving certain goals. Social dimension encourages the use of ethics within individuals; this dimension allocates resources that reflect the commitment of an entity in facilitating humankind to pursue social, intellectual and spiritual development (United Nations, 2013).
Illiteracy rates shows that there is lack of capacity to have access on information and new knowledge through reading and writing, this is often the result of ignorance and the lack of capacity to acquire information available because of educational disadvantage. But African continent has managed to eliminate these highest rates of illiteracy; such countries include Kenya, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Most illiterate individuals are females that leave a huge gap between gender equality; this gender gap should be narrowed (United Nations, 2013).
Net primary enrolment ratios improved very little for both male and female for African continent. For example, the admission ratios of 40 per cent or more for both male and female were registered in both 1998/1999 and 2002/2003. The gender gap was constant in 2002/2003 as it was in 1998/1999 having large group of males in primary than females. This shows that there is still a gender gap of about 10 per cent or more in our neighbouring African countries such as Chad, Togo, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Burundi (United Nations, 2013).
Basically on the southern side of Africa countries such as South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Kenya, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia and Zimbabwe, they have highest enrolments of females compared to other African continents. In African continent, the gender gap remained at the same level of 7% over the period (United Nations, 2013).
An enrolment ratio for high schools has revealed that there is a small increase in enrolment ratios for African countries for both sexes from 34% in 1998/1999 to 37% in 2002/03. The gender gap was 10% or more in Eritrea, Benin, Gambia and Chad that favours the enrolment of males more than females. But countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland had positive differences in favour of females. There is a huge gap between enrolment of males and females that ranges between 4% and 6% (United Nations, 2013).
Environment sustainability
Environmental Sustainability-this dimension can be defined as the capacity to reserve nature over time the three basic functions of the environment: the waste receiver function, direct usefulness and the resource supply function. In other words, within a region an environmental sustainability means the capacity to increase and expand the value of the environment and its uniqueness, while assuring the protection and the renewal of natural resources and the environmental patrimony
Environmental sustainability dimension refers to the preservation of the environment and the structure to ensure that functions and benefits of individuals are also sustained for future generations. This section analyses modifications of the environment and also revealing impacts it has on the environment in which we live in human beings affect the environment because of they do not have knowledge of general impacts that can affect the environment.
Education can help in diminishing the environmental degradation by individuals through having information or proper knowledge about the impacts of miss use of our resources, therefore proper knowledge should be learned in order to sustain the environment for future generation.
From the above dimensions, we can safely conclude that sustaining conservation of nature for future generations plays an indispensable role in enhancing and broadening learners Intelligent Quotient (IQ). While social dimension caters for the welfare of learners and it also emphasizes the issue of ethics around the institutions of learning. On the other side of the coin the economic dimension provide the means and ways to generate income and create employment for individuals in a nucleus of economic growth.
Various challenges on sustainable economic development: Critical look at their relevance in South Africa.
Skills Development
Skills shortages is a major constrain on growth. Without the relevant skills in place, this contributes to the prevalence of structural unemployment in which there is a mismatch between the supply and demand of labourers with the necessary skill set (Wikipedia, 2014). According to Dinokeng (2009) the unintended consequences of affirmative action has decreased the pool of skills, as skilled minorities have immigrated to other countries. The absence of skilled labourers has contributed mostly to the concept of Brain drain, in which the limited amount of skilled workers leave the country to pursue more successful career elsewhere. The concept of the brain drain is as a result of the education sector still not being able to produce the type of skills that are needed in the economy.
Unemployment
With unemployment at 24.1% at the end of 2013 (Stats SA, 2014), it is no wonder why sustaining development especially economic development is much needed in South Africa. The lack of skills and education contributes to the slow growth in the economy, in which value added goods are not sufficiently produced and readily made available to be exported. This is evident from the high number of goods S.A imports, seen in its current account deficit. The problem of unemployment is mainly concentrated among the youth, women, and Africans. Sustaining economic development is close to impossible if the economy is not creating jobs for the youth, as they make up the largest possible workforce available. One major concern linked with youth unemployment is the rapid rise of petty crime and drug abuse in the country (Dinokeng, 2009). However, there are many vacancies in the economy for skilled workers, however with the current state of the education system and lack of skills development, this hinders the progress employment opportunities for the youth (Dinokeng, 2009) .With nearly 1 in every 4 persons unemployed, it is evident that the prospects of developing jobs that are sustainable not only in terms of short term growth, but jobs people can be assured will be sustained for a period of more than 3 years are developed and secured.
Poverty and Inequality
Poverty is one of the main topics when focusing on economic development especially if we plan on sustaining development. More than a billion people still live in extreme poverty, in which nearly all of these people suffer from hunger (UN, 2013). In South Africa, nearly 40 percent of households still live below the poverty line, estimated by the treasury to be about R480 per person per month (DOT, 2008). With nearly 13 million people and counting, dependent by the on the government for social grants, poverty still remains a major challenge in economic development. Inequality, measured by the Gini-coefficient has increased amongst African people from 0.55 in 1994, to 0.59 in 2008. Inequality in most cases fuelled by exposure from poverty also remains a challenge towards sustaining development. According to stats SA (2013) females are more impoverished than males in S.A, with headcount of 58, 6% as compared to 54, 4% for males. The subject of racial inequality is still a sensitive topic to most South Africans, as it undermines the efforts of building a non-racial society. A nation that cannot tolerate working with one another will be counterproductive both in economic terms and social development.
Urban Development The rapid migration of people from rural areas to cities has seen the much needed infrastructure development in cities across the world. Without the necessary development plans put into place, the challenges of urban development can cause a hindrance in the process of development. A study by the department of housing has shown that approximately 1 million people per year are migrating to the cities. The rapid increase in people moving has seen the erection of more than 3000 new informal settlements since 1996. The rise of urban migration has seen many people, particularly those who are not situated in CBD’s having to spend large sums of money on transport. The absence of infrastructure development in the transport sector poses a challenge for commuters to get to work. The lack of skills at local government level, compounded with bureaucracy and corruption, has placed emphasis on the problems of poor services and infrastructure delivery (Dinokeng, 2009).
Rural Development
South Africa has inherited high levels of poverty and the constant problem of inadequate access to resources infrastructure and social services is largely felt by those in rural areas (stats SA, 2012). The failure of effective land reform, together with the negative effects on the security of commercial farmers, has contributed to South Africa becoming a net importer of food. Land reform, a major contributor to the lack of effectiveness of economic development within the agriculture sector has impeded the pace of rural development. The failure of the land bank to help develop a class of commercial or subsistence black farmers is largely due to the lack of skills and corruption. The department of rural development and land reform (2014) on its website claims that it will provide skills development and sustainable economic opportunities; however this will only be made clearer on how they are going to achieve this after the elections.
Sustaining Economic Development: Strategies implemented in a globalising world
By analysing the possible strategies that have been developed, implemented and carried out in the rest of the world, it is fitting to look at what other countries have done in order to sustain their development. The republican of Singapore, formally known as Singapore is an island country situated in Southeast Asia. The country is highly urbanised, with most of its territory consistently expanded through land reclamation. Singapore attracts large amounts of FDI thanks mainly to its geographic location, corruption-free environment, skilled workforce, low tax rates and advanced infrastructure. Employment in the country does not have a minimum wage, as this is perceived to lower its competitiveness. In terms of unemployment, the percentage of unemployed, economically active people above the age of 15 is only 2%. Poverty, particularly severe poverty is rare, as the government has rejected the notion of a generous welfare system, stating that each generation should earn and save sufficient for its entire life cycle (Wikipedia, 2013). The country does, however boast one of the highest income inequality levels among developed countries. The following are some of the strategies that Singapore has put into place to sustain its economic development. By analysing these strategies, we can formulate which strategies could be implemented to fill the gaps in which South Africa has lacked in. Economic Strategies
Diversifying the economy
• Technology-intensive, high-value added manufacturing activities- Focusing on this area allows countries to able to promote Research and Development in areas such as pharmaceuticals and chemical, which help to develop new products and services.
• Attract transnational companies- By attracting these companies, this will allow them to set-up their high-value added activities in the country, allowing them to train and hire employees based within the country.
• Stronger focus on the Standard of education- With international tertiary institutions such as Monash University based in the country, this allows the country to create a stronger university sector which can later contribute to the overall economic development of the country when students have already acquired the necessary skills.
• Stronger focus on the tourism sector- By offering a wide range of both natural and man-made attractions, this contributes more towards generating further economic growth. By allocating more funds towards this sector, this allows different areas of the country to be developed, creating jobs and uplifting communities throughout the country in the process.
• Nurturing growth of Small and Medium Enterprises- According to Frimpong (2013) SMEs are very important to the growth of any nation. Studies have shown that Small to Medium Enterprises contribute nearly 55% of GDP and close to 65% of total employment in high income countries.
• Venturing Abroad- Through regionalisation, countries are able to invest in other countries, which usually present the opportunity of lower labour costs and the prospects of newer markets. Investing in other countries also guarantees the prospect of economic growth even if there is uncertainty in other parts of the world.
• Managing resources efficiently- The process of managing resources efficiently can be achieved in two parts. Firstly by developing its people through the promotion of local entrepreneurs and the continuous process of learning among the workforce. Local entrepreneurs bring to the fore a prospect of offering new products, services and technologies. Skilled workers bring the added benefit of; being more effective and efficient in their work and eliminates the aspect of having to hire supervisors to train new recruits. The second part is attracting foreign talent, which helps to create business opportunities and jobs.
Education and Sustainable Development
In (Breidlid, 2009) Sustainable Development is defined as development that fulfils all the required needs of the presents generations without compromising on the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This definition of sustainable development is rather broad and hence the idea of sustainable development encompasses a vast number of facets within an economic system. Sustainable Development can be linked to many various variables, it can be linked to improvements in the standards of living, preservation of the natural environment, reduction in poverty levels and, lastly improvements in the education and the health systems. These variables are a few, amongst a vast number of economic variables that can be improved in order to ensure that there is sustainable development within an economy.
Education has been seen as a critical element of sustainable development, it has been pursued very aggressively by many developing countries and it is seen as the guaranteed escape from poverty. This importance of education reveals its fundamental role in ensuring sustainable development.
The Millennium Development Goals include education as an element of sustainable economic. With regards to education the Millennium Development Goals aim to achieve universal primary education, thereby ensuring that all boys and girls achieve primary school education (Smith and Todaro, 2011). At the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002, the critical role of education in promoting sustainable development was also highlighted. Emphasis was therefore placed on the strong need for governments to ensure that sufficient resources are mobilised in order to ensure that proper education is delivered to all learners (Breidlid, 2009)
Research has shown that there is a strong relationship between education and development, and by implication sustainable development. In addition to its important linkages to sustainable development, education has great social benefits. The benefits of education can be identified at both the macroeconomic level and the microeconomics/household level. By having a good education, a person has a better chance of receiving a higher income at a later stage in life. A good education ensures that a person has the right skills and therefore a certain level of job security. Within the “Education for Sustainable Development” framework heavier emphasis is further placed on education for girls. This remains a very contentious issue among many developing countries. The social benefits of an educated female person are just too many to mention and they play a critical role in sustainable development. It is has been shown that education for women has an impact on fertility. Educated females are less likely to fall pregnant. They are more likely to do proper family planning. This has a huge impact on fertility and, by extension can lead to proper management of population growth.
Educated females are also less likely to be exposed to HIV/AIDS, which has become a major hindrance to development, particularly within the African continent, which is plagued with this disease. So if educating women can lead to a decrease in the infection rate of HIV/AIDS, then it is evident that the education of women has great social benefits and by implication can contribute immensely to sustainable development. In (Smith and Todaro, 2011) it is also indicated that an educated female is also more likely to pass on her education to her children and this, therefore helps in escaping the poverty trap.
On a macroeconomic level, education is identified as a central element of sustainable economic, social and political systems at the national and regional level (Akoojee and McGrath, 2009).
Firstly, education can lead to improved social cohesion. A well educated person can participate much more effectively in society. Education further breaks down any barriers that may exist between humans, such barriers may be cultural, racial or ethnic. Education therefore increases similarity between people and they can therefore be more easily integrated within society.
Secondly, education leads to large increases in human capital which could subsequently lead to national economic success. Increased levels of human capital can lead to significant reduction in unemployment because improved levels of education will bring better prospects of employment and higher incomes. Therefore, skills development and human capital accumulation can play a vital role in both economic competitiveness and poverty alleviation (Akoojee and McGrath, 2009).
Education in South Africa
The South African Government recognizes the importance of education in sustainable development. The government has been increasing its annual spending on education every year. The graph below shows the expenditure trend of the government towards education. The graph shows the expenditure in Basic Education and Higher Education. The spending on both categories of education has been increasing constantly.
The National Development Plan also incorporates education. The Plan aims to improve the quality of education on an ongoing basis. It aims to improve equity in the provision of quality basic education. Significant increases in expenditure are also included within the plan. The plan also highlights the importance of book distribution, it aims to distribute more books, more efficiently to learners across the country at no cost to their parents (Department of Basic Education, 2014)
Source: www.moneyweb.co.za
No fees schools in South Africa
The poorest two-fifths as determined by poverty indicators which yield to 40% were declared to be no fee schools as of 2007. What simply meant by no fee schools is the large state allocations per learner received as well as a higher allocation for non-personnel, non-capital expenditure. In most schools parents may apply for fee exemptions. These initiatives of education leaders aims at not to keep children out of school but they do help to sustain classes in education system (Motala & Sayed, 2009)
The School Funding Norms and recent amendments
There is a vast difference in fiscal capacity disparities amongst nine provinces of South Africa and as a result of that there is an unequal gap between the amount of tax revenue each province can raise and the amount of money it needs to fulfil its responsibilities for basic services including education.
Recognising this, a portion of nationally raised revenues is distributed to provinces and local governments through the Equitable Share Formula, based on demographic and social criteria. Another mechanism aimed at improving equity in education financing is the National Norms and Standards, which require that provincial departments rank each school into one of five quintiles, with Quintile 1 being the poorest and Quintile 5 the least poor, based on rates of income, unemployment and illiteracy within the school catchment area. The 2006 Education Law Amendment Act replaced the provincial quintiles with national ones. While there were many gains in terms of increasing equality, there was a clear recognition both within and outside the state that a two tier education system was operating in South Africa, one catering for the wealthy (which remained largely white) and one catering for the poor (which remained black). In response, the 2006 National Norms and Standards declared schools in quintiles 1 and 2 to be no fee schools, compensating these schools with a higher allocation for non-personnel, non-capital expenditure (Motala & Sayed, 2009)
The Amended National Norms and Standards for School Funding (ANNSSF), which came into effect on 1 January 2007, amended the 1998 norms. The ANNSSF deals specifically with public funding of both public and independent (private) schools, as well as with school fee exemptions policies. State funding to public schools is provided in two forms: personnel expenditure and non-personnel expenditure
The school allocation is developed using five considerations: the rights of learners, the minimum basic package to ensure quality education, prices of goods and services, the national distribution of income differences and poverty, and lastly the state budget. The majority of items covered by the school allocation fall into what can be termed running costs (stationery, maintenance and services such as electricity); also covered are learning support materials like textbooks, which is the only item directly related to learning.
Previously, all schools complemented the school allocation by collecting school fees. Under the current policy, a fee charging school can now apply to its Provincial Education Department to be declared a no fee school. This would entitle the school to an increased allocation from the state to offset revenues previously generated through school fees. The list of no fee schools is determined provincially by the Provincial Education Department, using a standard national procedure.
Each school is assigned a poverty score using data from the community in which the school is located. The three poverty indicators utilised for this purpose are income, unemployment rates and the level of education of the community, which are weighted to assign a poverty score for the community and the school. The school is then assigned to one of the poverty quintiles determined nationally (see Table 1). The middle quintile is referred to as the ‘adequacy benchmark’, which is the minimum requirement for a school to provide a quality education. Schools in this category will receive the minimum amount of R554. Schools in poorer quintiles (NQ 1 and 2) are no fee schools and so receive larger allocations, while those in better-off quintiles (the fee schools) receive smaller state allocations. The amounts in Table 1 refer to per learner allocations for each category of school; Column A shows national percentages per quintile; Column B lists per learner amounts (2007-2009); and Column C specifies the maximum percentage of learners in each national quintile that can be funded to the no fee threshold level. Thus in 2007 the poorest schools (NQ 1 and 2), which are also no fee schools, received allocations of R738 and R677 per learner, for 100% of their learners (Column B). The state calculates that 30% of all learners in South Africa are in Quintile 1, 27.5% in Quintile 2 and 22.5% in Quintile 3 (Column A).
Richer schools, which are also fee-charging schools, are allocated less than the adequacy benchmark of R554; in 2007 schools in Quintile 4 received R369 and schools in Quintile 5 R123 per learner, covering 67% and 22% respectively of their learners (Column C), with the state calculating that 15% and 5% of learners nationally fall into these categories.
Resource allocation also differs for different provinces and nationally determined poverty tables are used to guide the school allocation (see Table 2). For example, the Eastern Cape is identified as the poorest province, with 34.8% of its schools falling into Quintile 1 (poorest) compared to the wealthier Western Cape where only 6.5% fall into Quintile 1. Provincial Education Department targets for each province will therefore differ accordingly.
Poor provinces have the majority of learners in the poorest no fee quintiles. The Eastern Cape and Limpopo have 56% of their learners in the first two quintiles, while KwaZulu-Natal has 43% of its learners in those two quintiles (Table 2). The relatively small percentage of Gauteng and Western Cape learners in the poorest quintiles indicates that the medium income in these provinces is much higher than the national average.
The original fee exemption policy, which applied to both richer and poorer schools, was viewed as a way of ensuring that no learner was denied access, by allowing their parents to apply for full or partial exemption at any school. With poorer schools now being declared no fee schools, exemptions only apply to fee-charging schools.
There are two major classes. Orphans and abandoned children receive an automatic exemption, and parents of learners receiving a poverty-linked state social grant also qualify for a full exemption. In the second class of exemption, parents may be granted a full or partial exemption based on their income in relation to school fees, determined by a set formula which schools apply upon receiving a written application from a parent.
In theory, exemptions permit even the poor to attend fee charging schools. Exemptions have also highlighted the issue of state subsidisation of poor learners in non-poor schools and how this responsibility is being devolved to parents in these schools.
Based on the above findings it is crystal clear that education as a sector plays an indispensable role in sustenance in terms of economic development. The equitable allocation of budget for provinces ensures that no learner is disadvantaged in terms of receiving or accessing basic education irrespective of their origin, culture and creed. The schools in rural areas are allocated accordingly so as to close the disparities created of the past. Interestingly the one education system for all races makes it simply for the treasury to allocate funds accordingly. Conclusion
The various challenges that are slowing down the progress of sustaining economic development are almost relevant in any country, unless you are in a high-income country which has, already put into place-plans that are focusing on sustaining it. By carefully examining these factors, it is evident that the current presence of skills shortages or the lack of a good, well-functioning education system creates a snowball effect which ends up causing: Creating a skills mismatch, which contributes to increased levels of unemployment, creating a further gap when it comes to levels of poverty and inequality, when it comes to analysing the standard of living of people living in both rural and urban areas. Indeed the stats are alarming when it comes to examining the current state of development, especially when we are looking at it from a South African context, however if we can try to implement the strategies that have been brought forward by advanced, developed countries such as providing a basic, efficient education system, developing skills that are necessary to further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of workers and promoting an environment that’s conducive to nurturing up and coming enterprises, the road to sustaining economic development will be one step achieved.
There are a vast number of paths towards sustainable development, but the quality of good education remains a cornerstone towards sustainable development. The provision of quality education to everybody will lead to needed increases in the employment rate and it will ensure significant increases in the standards of living for many people. Government must therefore continue making efforts in order to ensure that education is well funded and distributed equitably. The efforts of government will definitely go a long way in ensuring improvements in the provision of quality education and this will ultimately lead to the much needed sustainable development.
Reference list
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Erasmus, J. & Steyn, C. 2002. Changes in the South African education system: In search for economic growth. Presented at the XXth Conference of the Comparative Education Society in Europe, 15–19 July 2002. Towards the End of Educational Systems? Europe in a World Perspective. Institute of Education, LondonUniversity. http://www.hsrc.ac.za/research/output/outputDocuments/2160_Erasmus_ Date of access: 3 March. 2014.
Forojalla, S.B. 1993. Educational planning for development. Bassingstoke, London: The Macmillian Press Ltd
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Frimpong, C.Y. 2013. SMEs As An Engine Of Social And Economic Devlopment In Africa. Modern Ghana, 29 July. http://www.modernghana.com/news/478225/1/smes-as-an-engine-of-social-and-economic-developme.html Date of access: 7 March. 2014.
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Twalo, T. 2010. Education for Self-Reliance: South Africa’s Alternative For Addressing Skills Shortage and Job Creation: A Literature Review. South African Journal of Higher Education, 24(5):832-846.
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This assignment seeks to consider the facts, challenges, dimensions and strategies on how education can play a pivotal role in sustainable economic development. It considers three different perspectives of dimensions as researched globally and now applicable in the South African context. It also discusses the concepts of how education can be applicable and of great assistance for self-reliance to address the skills shortage and job creation challenges in South Africa. It further discusses the research agenda that focusses more on alleviation or rather eradication on poverty and inequality. It then focusses on how education can be regarded as the potential sector in reducing unemployment and skills shortage that are prevailing in South Africa. We further consider the aspects of various challenges that play an impact on sustaining development in a South African context and analyse how possible strategies may assist in overcoming these challenges. In the assignment, however we will single out education and explore its fundamental role in sustainable development. The Millennium Development Goals include education as an element of sustainable economic. Our research will show that there is a strong relationship between education and development.
Introduction
In our view sustainable economic development in education from 2009-2013 was only made possible by the treasury in allocating a budget for supporting and spearheading the process. Thus one cannot talk of sustainable development without referring to the fiscal budget and moreover that improvement of education in our country is primarily the vital role of government. Thus fiscal budget plays an important part in sustaining educational economic development; we shall reflect how money was allocated to education from the period 2009 to 2013. And a graphical scenario shall be given to prove our plight. When Nelson Rolihlanhla Mandela took over from the apartheid regime and his cabinet they declare free education to all disadvantaged individuals and all our findings shall come from that background where one education system was introduced for all citizens.
In this assignment we shall look into the means and ways on how the democratic government took in making sure that those initiated proposals which were passed in cabinet as laws are maintained.
We shall also look into how the ministers of education took turns in changing the countries curriculum since 1994. Truly these changes in curriculum confuse the educators and children because educators had to attend courses and were forced to implement immediately after training. The above statement tempts us to infer that the bulk of the allocated funds were spending on training rather than on children’s benefit. We witnessed the following curriculum changes since 1994 namely: curriculum 2000, Outcome Based Education (OBE), National Curriculum Standards (NCS) and we’re now in CAPS.
We shall dwell much on the classification of schools into quintiles as a measure of how much must be allocated to a particular school. Many schools in South Africa are full to capacity by children whom their parents cannot afford nor have it tough to bring food to the table on daily basis thus the department of education also introduces feeding schemes to schools particularly primaries and that project needs to be maintained and supported.
We shall also look into how the dimension of sustainable economic development namely economic, social and environmental helps to shape up development and also as a measure on how far are we in closing skills shortage and unemployment gaps.
In 1998, the than minister of education Prof Kader Asmal introduces section 21 whereby he gave schools financial independency in terms of procurement of Learner Teacher Support Material (LTSM). The reason for this was solely on the basis that teachers has to stay in class and procurement had to be done by small & medium business enterprises, that in itself introduces supply chain which was done by those businesses. Many people got an opportunity to open up business just to supply textbooks and stationeries to schools and as a result of that employment was created.
We saw in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces many non-section 21 schools uses Edusolutions for procurement. Currently it is now procuring for all schools.
And how sustainable economic development in education can be seen as a drive for sustainable employment. Education has indeed employed a huge number of people be it administrators, educators, principals, subject advisors etc. The challenges that the department of education is facing in sustaining the initiatives as well as the possible strategies shall be looked at.
Applying the education for self-reliance concept to address the skills shortage and job creation challenges in South Africa.
It is imperative to see education in South Africa as self-reliance and also as an alternative for addressing skills shortage and job creations as the two are fundamental concerns in reducing the unemployment rate. The question ‘How is Education for Self Reliance a viable solution to South Africa’s skills shortage and job creation?’ still needs to be answered.
An overview of the South African situation in relation to skills paucity and job creation is given to put these questions into perspective. Thereafter, specific suggestions on how to address the skills shortage and job creation challenge will be made.
Since the democratic dispensation the government has embark on numerous curriculum changes. The first Minister of Education by the name of Dr Sibusiso Bengu the late introduced what we call curriculum 2000. Towards the end of 1997 Prof Kader Asmal who succeded Dr Sibusiso Bengu introduced Out Based Education (OBE). We then saw Naledi Pandor came into the picture DURING Thabo Mbeki’s tenure and she introduces National Curriculum Standards (NCS).
When Jacob Zuma took over he appointed Mme Angie Motshega and the latter introduces CAPS. In all of these changes the educators and learners were culprits in that they had to adopt with rapid changes that were emanating as a result of those changes. After attending every workshop the educators were compelled to implement and the children were to consume what was imparted to them. In relation to the concept of education for self-reliance to address the skills shortage one can realise that the confusion caused by changes in curriculum really do not contribute positively in the reduction of skill shortage.
The South African curriculum has been designed along the lines of the constitution of the Republic. The new democratic dispensation declares free basic education for all.
The purpose of schooling, that is, what the government seeks to achieve as expressed in the state vision and mission is expected to be realized, inter alia, through the schools’ contribution. This is in line with the school of thought who holds that “As is the state so is the school, what you want in the state, you must put into the school”. However, in terms of the economics of education, we need to ascertain if there could be justification for costs in relation to benefits to society.
The traditional economics of education assumed that expenditure on education would pay for itself by the economic activity it would generate. (Freire’s 1968, 15) assertion could be helpful in evaluating the impact school leavers make in society.
South Africa like many other developing nations’ participation in the global economy is rather at a disadvantage as it has a very high rate of unemployment, low-skilled labour force and the inequitable distribution of resources by the apartheid government has not been reversed yet. Our skills profile of our labour force is poor and uncompetitive in the global economy (Erasmus and Steyn, 2002:9. Erasmus and Steyn, 2002:14).
The minimal number of professionals and skilled is as a results of lack of skills in the workforce which restrict their opportunities of being employable. There are many contributing factors to that if one has to consider the segregation of departments of education by the apartheid regime.
This has (Twalo, 2010:838) also led to a global reduction of job opportunities. Erasmus & Steyn (2002) note that, this situation is also aggravated by the shift from primary production (agriculture and mining) and secondary production (manufacturing) to tertiary production (trade and commercial services). They delineate how different phases of the economy operate. The factor driven economy is based on basic factors of production like agriculture and mineral resources. The investment driven economy is characterized by secondary production processes and prevalent use of technology which makes unskilled labour redundant as their job is done by automatic devices. The innovation driven economy is characterised by sophisticated consumer demands, high levels of personal incomes, education and desire for convenience. Improved technology and advanced use of automated machinery which require highly skilled technicians and engineers are also key features of this phase and it is the tertiary production processes that meet its demands. Decreased production costs and increased production levels due to technological innovations further lessen the demand for unskilled labour.
The last stage wealth driven stage is characterised by competition on prices and downsizing by industries.
The continuous decrease of the primary and secondary sector contributions in the economy and continuous increase of tertiary sector contribution implies that there is a continuous change of requirements for skills in the labour market.
The changes in the education and training sector have unfortunately not been commensurate with those in the labour market.
The skills inappropriateness and inadequacy of the South African workforce has been hindering its economic success in the global economy. This then requires an up to date linkage of education and training to meet the market demands and avoid mis-skilling (imparting skills that are in excess in society when there is a serious lack of skills that are in demand) and consequently unemployment. The inability to match education and training to the society’s needs as well as the country’s low educational profile has significantly contributed to the high unemployment rate. The field of maths and science as well as vocational education have not been drawing as much interest as they should among learners in the South African education system, hence the shortage of skills that are in demand (Department of Home Affairs, 2006).
In a country that annually spends around 20 percent of the total government expenditure on education and has 12,3 million learners (26% of the total population) and more than a million students (2% of the total population) in tertiary institutions it is difficult to justify such a high rate of skills shortage and low rate of job creation.
This status quo could, inter alia, be attributed to the education system’s failure to effectively respond to skills demand and supply in the country. (Thompson 1981, 96 and Forojalla 1993, 34) both identify mis-skilling as one of the factors contributing to the growing level of educated unemployed. This inevitably results in poor education investments as some of the rewards are forfeited. The production of students with skills that are less desired by the economy creates a workforce with inappropriate skills and increases the reserved army of labour which consequently fuels social, economic and psychological ills like different forms of crime and low self-esteem.
The changing global and national circumstances necessitate that communities proactively devise means to sustain themselves. Evidently, government services are inadequate in terms of addressing the socio-economic needs of the people due to, inter alia, poor planning, inadequate service delivery, high-inflation, debt burden, corruption and globalisation. South Africans thus have to look at additional and more creative ways of self-reliance or what some people choose to refer to as development from below or development from within or local economic development (Erasmus & Steyn, 2002: 9).
Dimensions of sustainable economic development
Economic dimension
The economic dimension can be define as the ability of an economic system to create a constant and improving the growth of its economic indicators, and also generating income and creating employment for individuals, is formulated around neoclassical shareholder primacy theory and it also suggests that mainly the responsibility of businesses is to maximize its profits for their shareholders. the economic view also has similar characteristics with the industrialist World-wide view whereby humankind has power over nature and the pursuit of financial growth is imminent (Nga & Soo, 2010: 3).
Mainly looking into Adam Smith he argued in The Wealth of Nations that individuals are led by the invisible hand that serves the society at best by being self-interested in utility maximization therefore economic dimension is important. Economic dimension is essential in particular to growth of education in our economy that can assist in promoting our country to be productive through having skilled labourers, because mainly if the economy of our country is experiencing growth this enables government to increase its spending in the education sector and thus leads to an efficient educational strategies being initiated, such as:
The National Skills Development Strategy which focusses on certain challenges that impact the economy to expand and lead to employment opportunities:
The insufficient skills levels, and many young individuals leaving formal high school and tertiary education and entering the labour market. This leads to the reduction of employability and work readiness of individuals and graduates from Further Education & Training (FET) and Higher Education & Training (HET) institutions, also including those without proper qualifications.
Many of individuals lack basic numeracy and literacy, do not have entry-level skills and work experience and work-based training.
To improve the skills level of graduates of secondary and tertiary education.
To address skills shortages in artisanal, technical and professional fields.
To reduce the over-emphasis on National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 1-3 learner-ships
To equip those in the workforce with sufficient technological skills
To improve co-operation between universities, further education and training colleges and sector education and training authorities (SETA)
To support economic growth and development through viable skills development
To develop sufficient skills for rural development
Social dimension
It is defined as the ability to ensure the welfare and also the distribution of equity among social classes and gender, social sustainability tries to explain how different stakeholders interact efficiently towards achieving certain goals. Social dimension encourages the use of ethics within individuals; this dimension allocates resources that reflect the commitment of an entity in facilitating humankind to pursue social, intellectual and spiritual development (United Nations, 2013).
Illiteracy rates shows that there is lack of capacity to have access on information and new knowledge through reading and writing, this is often the result of ignorance and the lack of capacity to acquire information available because of educational disadvantage. But African continent has managed to eliminate these highest rates of illiteracy; such countries include Kenya, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Most illiterate individuals are females that leave a huge gap between gender equality; this gender gap should be narrowed (United Nations, 2013).
Net primary enrolment ratios improved very little for both male and female for African continent. For example, the admission ratios of 40 per cent or more for both male and female were registered in both 1998/1999 and 2002/2003. The gender gap was constant in 2002/2003 as it was in 1998/1999 having large group of males in primary than females. This shows that there is still a gender gap of about 10 per cent or more in our neighbouring African countries such as Chad, Togo, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Burundi (United Nations, 2013).
Basically on the southern side of Africa countries such as South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Kenya, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia and Zimbabwe, they have highest enrolments of females compared to other African continents. In African continent, the gender gap remained at the same level of 7% over the period (United Nations, 2013).
An enrolment ratio for high schools has revealed that there is a small increase in enrolment ratios for African countries for both sexes from 34% in 1998/1999 to 37% in 2002/03. The gender gap was 10% or more in Eritrea, Benin, Gambia and Chad that favours the enrolment of males more than females. But countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland had positive differences in favour of females. There is a huge gap between enrolment of males and females that ranges between 4% and 6% (United Nations, 2013).
Environment sustainability
Environmental Sustainability-this dimension can be defined as the capacity to reserve nature over time the three basic functions of the environment: the waste receiver function, direct usefulness and the resource supply function. In other words, within a region an environmental sustainability means the capacity to increase and expand the value of the environment and its uniqueness, while assuring the protection and the renewal of natural resources and the environmental patrimony
Environmental sustainability dimension refers to the preservation of the environment and the structure to ensure that functions and benefits of individuals are also sustained for future generations. This section analyses modifications of the environment and also revealing impacts it has on the environment in which we live in human beings affect the environment because of they do not have knowledge of general impacts that can affect the environment.
Education can help in diminishing the environmental degradation by individuals through having information or proper knowledge about the impacts of miss use of our resources, therefore proper knowledge should be learned in order to sustain the environment for future generation.
From the above dimensions, we can safely conclude that sustaining conservation of nature for future generations plays an indispensable role in enhancing and broadening learners Intelligent Quotient (IQ). While social dimension caters for the welfare of learners and it also emphasizes the issue of ethics around the institutions of learning. On the other side of the coin the economic dimension provide the means and ways to generate income and create employment for individuals in a nucleus of economic growth.
Various challenges on sustainable economic development: Critical look at their relevance in South Africa.
Skills Development
Skills shortages is a major constrain on growth. Without the relevant skills in place, this contributes to the prevalence of structural unemployment in which there is a mismatch between the supply and demand of labourers with the necessary skill set (Wikipedia, 2014). According to Dinokeng (2009) the unintended consequences of affirmative action has decreased the pool of skills, as skilled minorities have immigrated to other countries. The absence of skilled labourers has contributed mostly to the concept of Brain drain, in which the limited amount of skilled workers leave the country to pursue more successful career elsewhere. The concept of the brain drain is as a result of the education sector still not being able to produce the type of skills that are needed in the economy.
Unemployment
With unemployment at 24.1% at the end of 2013 (Stats SA, 2014), it is no wonder why sustaining development especially economic development is much needed in South Africa. The lack of skills and education contributes to the slow growth in the economy, in which value added goods are not sufficiently produced and readily made available to be exported. This is evident from the high number of goods S.A imports, seen in its current account deficit. The problem of unemployment is mainly concentrated among the youth, women, and Africans. Sustaining economic development is close to impossible if the economy is not creating jobs for the youth, as they make up the largest possible workforce available. One major concern linked with youth unemployment is the rapid rise of petty crime and drug abuse in the country (Dinokeng, 2009). However, there are many vacancies in the economy for skilled workers, however with the current state of the education system and lack of skills development, this hinders the progress employment opportunities for the youth (Dinokeng, 2009) .With nearly 1 in every 4 persons unemployed, it is evident that the prospects of developing jobs that are sustainable not only in terms of short term growth, but jobs people can be assured will be sustained for a period of more than 3 years are developed and secured.
Poverty and Inequality
Poverty is one of the main topics when focusing on economic development especially if we plan on sustaining development. More than a billion people still live in extreme poverty, in which nearly all of these people suffer from hunger (UN, 2013). In South Africa, nearly 40 percent of households still live below the poverty line, estimated by the treasury to be about R480 per person per month (DOT, 2008). With nearly 13 million people and counting, dependent by the on the government for social grants, poverty still remains a major challenge in economic development. Inequality, measured by the Gini-coefficient has increased amongst African people from 0.55 in 1994, to 0.59 in 2008. Inequality in most cases fuelled by exposure from poverty also remains a challenge towards sustaining development. According to stats SA (2013) females are more impoverished than males in S.A, with headcount of 58, 6% as compared to 54, 4% for males. The subject of racial inequality is still a sensitive topic to most South Africans, as it undermines the efforts of building a non-racial society. A nation that cannot tolerate working with one another will be counterproductive both in economic terms and social development.
Urban Development The rapid migration of people from rural areas to cities has seen the much needed infrastructure development in cities across the world. Without the necessary development plans put into place, the challenges of urban development can cause a hindrance in the process of development. A study by the department of housing has shown that approximately 1 million people per year are migrating to the cities. The rapid increase in people moving has seen the erection of more than 3000 new informal settlements since 1996. The rise of urban migration has seen many people, particularly those who are not situated in CBD’s having to spend large sums of money on transport. The absence of infrastructure development in the transport sector poses a challenge for commuters to get to work. The lack of skills at local government level, compounded with bureaucracy and corruption, has placed emphasis on the problems of poor services and infrastructure delivery (Dinokeng, 2009).
Rural Development
South Africa has inherited high levels of poverty and the constant problem of inadequate access to resources infrastructure and social services is largely felt by those in rural areas (stats SA, 2012). The failure of effective land reform, together with the negative effects on the security of commercial farmers, has contributed to South Africa becoming a net importer of food. Land reform, a major contributor to the lack of effectiveness of economic development within the agriculture sector has impeded the pace of rural development. The failure of the land bank to help develop a class of commercial or subsistence black farmers is largely due to the lack of skills and corruption. The department of rural development and land reform (2014) on its website claims that it will provide skills development and sustainable economic opportunities; however this will only be made clearer on how they are going to achieve this after the elections.
Sustaining Economic Development: Strategies implemented in a globalising world
By analysing the possible strategies that have been developed, implemented and carried out in the rest of the world, it is fitting to look at what other countries have done in order to sustain their development. The republican of Singapore, formally known as Singapore is an island country situated in Southeast Asia. The country is highly urbanised, with most of its territory consistently expanded through land reclamation. Singapore attracts large amounts of FDI thanks mainly to its geographic location, corruption-free environment, skilled workforce, low tax rates and advanced infrastructure. Employment in the country does not have a minimum wage, as this is perceived to lower its competitiveness. In terms of unemployment, the percentage of unemployed, economically active people above the age of 15 is only 2%. Poverty, particularly severe poverty is rare, as the government has rejected the notion of a generous welfare system, stating that each generation should earn and save sufficient for its entire life cycle (Wikipedia, 2013). The country does, however boast one of the highest income inequality levels among developed countries. The following are some of the strategies that Singapore has put into place to sustain its economic development. By analysing these strategies, we can formulate which strategies could be implemented to fill the gaps in which South Africa has lacked in. Economic Strategies
Diversifying the economy
• Technology-intensive, high-value added manufacturing activities- Focusing on this area allows countries to able to promote Research and Development in areas such as pharmaceuticals and chemical, which help to develop new products and services.
• Attract transnational companies- By attracting these companies, this will allow them to set-up their high-value added activities in the country, allowing them to train and hire employees based within the country.
• Stronger focus on the Standard of education- With international tertiary institutions such as Monash University based in the country, this allows the country to create a stronger university sector which can later contribute to the overall economic development of the country when students have already acquired the necessary skills.
• Stronger focus on the tourism sector- By offering a wide range of both natural and man-made attractions, this contributes more towards generating further economic growth. By allocating more funds towards this sector, this allows different areas of the country to be developed, creating jobs and uplifting communities throughout the country in the process.
• Nurturing growth of Small and Medium Enterprises- According to Frimpong (2013) SMEs are very important to the growth of any nation. Studies have shown that Small to Medium Enterprises contribute nearly 55% of GDP and close to 65% of total employment in high income countries.
• Venturing Abroad- Through regionalisation, countries are able to invest in other countries, which usually present the opportunity of lower labour costs and the prospects of newer markets. Investing in other countries also guarantees the prospect of economic growth even if there is uncertainty in other parts of the world.
• Managing resources efficiently- The process of managing resources efficiently can be achieved in two parts. Firstly by developing its people through the promotion of local entrepreneurs and the continuous process of learning among the workforce. Local entrepreneurs bring to the fore a prospect of offering new products, services and technologies. Skilled workers bring the added benefit of; being more effective and efficient in their work and eliminates the aspect of having to hire supervisors to train new recruits. The second part is attracting foreign talent, which helps to create business opportunities and jobs.
Education and Sustainable Development
In (Breidlid, 2009) Sustainable Development is defined as development that fulfils all the required needs of the presents generations without compromising on the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This definition of sustainable development is rather broad and hence the idea of sustainable development encompasses a vast number of facets within an economic system. Sustainable Development can be linked to many various variables, it can be linked to improvements in the standards of living, preservation of the natural environment, reduction in poverty levels and, lastly improvements in the education and the health systems. These variables are a few, amongst a vast number of economic variables that can be improved in order to ensure that there is sustainable development within an economy.
Education has been seen as a critical element of sustainable development, it has been pursued very aggressively by many developing countries and it is seen as the guaranteed escape from poverty. This importance of education reveals its fundamental role in ensuring sustainable development.
The Millennium Development Goals include education as an element of sustainable economic. With regards to education the Millennium Development Goals aim to achieve universal primary education, thereby ensuring that all boys and girls achieve primary school education (Smith and Todaro, 2011). At the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002, the critical role of education in promoting sustainable development was also highlighted. Emphasis was therefore placed on the strong need for governments to ensure that sufficient resources are mobilised in order to ensure that proper education is delivered to all learners (Breidlid, 2009)
Research has shown that there is a strong relationship between education and development, and by implication sustainable development. In addition to its important linkages to sustainable development, education has great social benefits. The benefits of education can be identified at both the macroeconomic level and the microeconomics/household level. By having a good education, a person has a better chance of receiving a higher income at a later stage in life. A good education ensures that a person has the right skills and therefore a certain level of job security. Within the “Education for Sustainable Development” framework heavier emphasis is further placed on education for girls. This remains a very contentious issue among many developing countries. The social benefits of an educated female person are just too many to mention and they play a critical role in sustainable development. It is has been shown that education for women has an impact on fertility. Educated females are less likely to fall pregnant. They are more likely to do proper family planning. This has a huge impact on fertility and, by extension can lead to proper management of population growth.
Educated females are also less likely to be exposed to HIV/AIDS, which has become a major hindrance to development, particularly within the African continent, which is plagued with this disease. So if educating women can lead to a decrease in the infection rate of HIV/AIDS, then it is evident that the education of women has great social benefits and by implication can contribute immensely to sustainable development. In (Smith and Todaro, 2011) it is also indicated that an educated female is also more likely to pass on her education to her children and this, therefore helps in escaping the poverty trap.
On a macroeconomic level, education is identified as a central element of sustainable economic, social and political systems at the national and regional level (Akoojee and McGrath, 2009).
Firstly, education can lead to improved social cohesion. A well educated person can participate much more effectively in society. Education further breaks down any barriers that may exist between humans, such barriers may be cultural, racial or ethnic. Education therefore increases similarity between people and they can therefore be more easily integrated within society.
Secondly, education leads to large increases in human capital which could subsequently lead to national economic success. Increased levels of human capital can lead to significant reduction in unemployment because improved levels of education will bring better prospects of employment and higher incomes. Therefore, skills development and human capital accumulation can play a vital role in both economic competitiveness and poverty alleviation (Akoojee and McGrath, 2009).
Education in South Africa
The South African Government recognizes the importance of education in sustainable development. The government has been increasing its annual spending on education every year. The graph below shows the expenditure trend of the government towards education. The graph shows the expenditure in Basic Education and Higher Education. The spending on both categories of education has been increasing constantly.
The National Development Plan also incorporates education. The Plan aims to improve the quality of education on an ongoing basis. It aims to improve equity in the provision of quality basic education. Significant increases in expenditure are also included within the plan. The plan also highlights the importance of book distribution, it aims to distribute more books, more efficiently to learners across the country at no cost to their parents (Department of Basic Education, 2014)
Source: www.moneyweb.co.za
No fees schools in South Africa
The poorest two-fifths as determined by poverty indicators which yield to 40% were declared to be no fee schools as of 2007. What simply meant by no fee schools is the large state allocations per learner received as well as a higher allocation for non-personnel, non-capital expenditure. In most schools parents may apply for fee exemptions. These initiatives of education leaders aims at not to keep children out of school but they do help to sustain classes in education system (Motala & Sayed, 2009)
The School Funding Norms and recent amendments
There is a vast difference in fiscal capacity disparities amongst nine provinces of South Africa and as a result of that there is an unequal gap between the amount of tax revenue each province can raise and the amount of money it needs to fulfil its responsibilities for basic services including education.
Recognising this, a portion of nationally raised revenues is distributed to provinces and local governments through the Equitable Share Formula, based on demographic and social criteria. Another mechanism aimed at improving equity in education financing is the National Norms and Standards, which require that provincial departments rank each school into one of five quintiles, with Quintile 1 being the poorest and Quintile 5 the least poor, based on rates of income, unemployment and illiteracy within the school catchment area. The 2006 Education Law Amendment Act replaced the provincial quintiles with national ones. While there were many gains in terms of increasing equality, there was a clear recognition both within and outside the state that a two tier education system was operating in South Africa, one catering for the wealthy (which remained largely white) and one catering for the poor (which remained black). In response, the 2006 National Norms and Standards declared schools in quintiles 1 and 2 to be no fee schools, compensating these schools with a higher allocation for non-personnel, non-capital expenditure (Motala & Sayed, 2009)
The Amended National Norms and Standards for School Funding (ANNSSF), which came into effect on 1 January 2007, amended the 1998 norms. The ANNSSF deals specifically with public funding of both public and independent (private) schools, as well as with school fee exemptions policies. State funding to public schools is provided in two forms: personnel expenditure and non-personnel expenditure
The school allocation is developed using five considerations: the rights of learners, the minimum basic package to ensure quality education, prices of goods and services, the national distribution of income differences and poverty, and lastly the state budget. The majority of items covered by the school allocation fall into what can be termed running costs (stationery, maintenance and services such as electricity); also covered are learning support materials like textbooks, which is the only item directly related to learning.
Previously, all schools complemented the school allocation by collecting school fees. Under the current policy, a fee charging school can now apply to its Provincial Education Department to be declared a no fee school. This would entitle the school to an increased allocation from the state to offset revenues previously generated through school fees. The list of no fee schools is determined provincially by the Provincial Education Department, using a standard national procedure.
Each school is assigned a poverty score using data from the community in which the school is located. The three poverty indicators utilised for this purpose are income, unemployment rates and the level of education of the community, which are weighted to assign a poverty score for the community and the school. The school is then assigned to one of the poverty quintiles determined nationally (see Table 1). The middle quintile is referred to as the ‘adequacy benchmark’, which is the minimum requirement for a school to provide a quality education. Schools in this category will receive the minimum amount of R554. Schools in poorer quintiles (NQ 1 and 2) are no fee schools and so receive larger allocations, while those in better-off quintiles (the fee schools) receive smaller state allocations. The amounts in Table 1 refer to per learner allocations for each category of school; Column A shows national percentages per quintile; Column B lists per learner amounts (2007-2009); and Column C specifies the maximum percentage of learners in each national quintile that can be funded to the no fee threshold level. Thus in 2007 the poorest schools (NQ 1 and 2), which are also no fee schools, received allocations of R738 and R677 per learner, for 100% of their learners (Column B). The state calculates that 30% of all learners in South Africa are in Quintile 1, 27.5% in Quintile 2 and 22.5% in Quintile 3 (Column A).
Richer schools, which are also fee-charging schools, are allocated less than the adequacy benchmark of R554; in 2007 schools in Quintile 4 received R369 and schools in Quintile 5 R123 per learner, covering 67% and 22% respectively of their learners (Column C), with the state calculating that 15% and 5% of learners nationally fall into these categories.
Resource allocation also differs for different provinces and nationally determined poverty tables are used to guide the school allocation (see Table 2). For example, the Eastern Cape is identified as the poorest province, with 34.8% of its schools falling into Quintile 1 (poorest) compared to the wealthier Western Cape where only 6.5% fall into Quintile 1. Provincial Education Department targets for each province will therefore differ accordingly.
Poor provinces have the majority of learners in the poorest no fee quintiles. The Eastern Cape and Limpopo have 56% of their learners in the first two quintiles, while KwaZulu-Natal has 43% of its learners in those two quintiles (Table 2). The relatively small percentage of Gauteng and Western Cape learners in the poorest quintiles indicates that the medium income in these provinces is much higher than the national average.
The original fee exemption policy, which applied to both richer and poorer schools, was viewed as a way of ensuring that no learner was denied access, by allowing their parents to apply for full or partial exemption at any school. With poorer schools now being declared no fee schools, exemptions only apply to fee-charging schools.
There are two major classes. Orphans and abandoned children receive an automatic exemption, and parents of learners receiving a poverty-linked state social grant also qualify for a full exemption. In the second class of exemption, parents may be granted a full or partial exemption based on their income in relation to school fees, determined by a set formula which schools apply upon receiving a written application from a parent.
In theory, exemptions permit even the poor to attend fee charging schools. Exemptions have also highlighted the issue of state subsidisation of poor learners in non-poor schools and how this responsibility is being devolved to parents in these schools.
Based on the above findings it is crystal clear that education as a sector plays an indispensable role in sustenance in terms of economic development. The equitable allocation of budget for provinces ensures that no learner is disadvantaged in terms of receiving or accessing basic education irrespective of their origin, culture and creed. The schools in rural areas are allocated accordingly so as to close the disparities created of the past. Interestingly the one education system for all races makes it simply for the treasury to allocate funds accordingly. Conclusion
The various challenges that are slowing down the progress of sustaining economic development are almost relevant in any country, unless you are in a high-income country which has, already put into place-plans that are focusing on sustaining it. By carefully examining these factors, it is evident that the current presence of skills shortages or the lack of a good, well-functioning education system creates a snowball effect which ends up causing: Creating a skills mismatch, which contributes to increased levels of unemployment, creating a further gap when it comes to levels of poverty and inequality, when it comes to analysing the standard of living of people living in both rural and urban areas. Indeed the stats are alarming when it comes to examining the current state of development, especially when we are looking at it from a South African context, however if we can try to implement the strategies that have been brought forward by advanced, developed countries such as providing a basic, efficient education system, developing skills that are necessary to further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of workers and promoting an environment that’s conducive to nurturing up and coming enterprises, the road to sustaining economic development will be one step achieved.
There are a vast number of paths towards sustainable development, but the quality of good education remains a cornerstone towards sustainable development. The provision of quality education to everybody will lead to needed increases in the employment rate and it will ensure significant increases in the standards of living for many people. Government must therefore continue making efforts in order to ensure that education is well funded and distributed equitably. The efforts of government will definitely go a long way in ensuring improvements in the provision of quality education and this will ultimately lead to the much needed sustainable development.
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