South Africa's future is at stake as children's education is neglected

IOL News

18-07-2025

Learners in an overcrowded classroom interact with their teacher. In South Africa, the plight of educators is widely understated. From overcrowded classrooms, to under-resourced schools, to various forms of violence and abuses, the role of teaching is significantly harder than meets the eye.
Image: Zanele Zulu / Independent Newspapers
AT A recent Unisa event in Cape Town, a primary school teacher recounted the heartbreaking story of Shane (not real name) — an eight-year-old boy from a single-parent home that was ravaged by drug addiction — who was deemed a 'troublemaker' at school.
Like his older brother in the past year, little Shane would be gunned down in a gang crossfire while walking home from school.
A mere two months ago, the nation was shaken by the brutal murder of 11-year-old Jayden-Lee Meek, who was found lying half-naked and unconscious on the staircase of his apartment complex. Also, just a year ago, eight-year-old Louqman Boonzaier's arm was completely shattered after he was shot while playing outside his home in Lotus River, Cape Town.
These stories are the makings of a horror film. And what is truly deplorable is that these harrowing stories are not unique. Across South Africa, from Tembisa to Tokai, Venda to Valhalla, there is a rampant crisis in our educational institutions. And this crisis continues to spread to high school, tertiary, and beyond. This is but a microcosm of the state of education and the experiences of educators in our country.
Some weeks ago, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed that since January 2025, 155 children under the age of five have died in South African public health facilities, with moderate or severe acute malnutrition as an underlying condition. This does not even consider the countless children who lose their lives to gang violence, various abuses, freak accidents, child trafficking, and blatant neglect.
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The vulnerability of children in our society is dangerously escalating. The adverse effects of our society on children are most evident in schools. Educators, who spend a significant amount of time with children, witness firsthand what neglect, abuse and unstable home environments do to young minds.
In South Africa, there are a plethora of social challenges that directly impact education. Crime, poverty, gangsterism, and general lawlessness mean that schools have become too unsafe to consistently govern masses of children and cater for their welfare. In South Africa, the plight of educators is widely understated. From overcrowded classrooms, to under-resourced schools, to various forms of violence and abuses, the role of teaching is significantly harder than meets the eye.
There is also a lack of regard and collaboration with teachers, from an institutional and a communal level. In instances where teachers are abused, slapped or stabbed, it is frighteningly underreported. Conversely, the abuse of students is spotlighted and swiftly disciplined. Many educators across our society face deplorable treatment and live in fear for their own lives. What all this underscores is a profound lack of protections for educators in our society.
Furthermore, any challenges that occur with students are often directly attributed to the teacher. Many a time, parents struggle to address their children's misdeeds and difficulties, and will blame the teacher for these. In fact, across our society, there are deplorably neglectful guardians and parents, yet they are often the boldest in condemning educators. From poor academic performance to teaching styles, to disagreements over the curriculum, and more, the educators bear the brunt of the problem.
Furthermore, the Department of Basic Education, which is supposed to be the key governing body of schools and educators, does very little to address these challenges, not only faced by learners but also by educators. School governing bodies and administrative divisions that are supposed to, first and foremost, protect the occupants of the schools, do very little to mitigate the challenges faced by the post-apartheid schooling system.
It is also blatantly evident that the transitioning government of 1994 did not meaningfully advance education in our society. They continue to seriously undermine the role of education in addressing the harrowing remnants of colonialism and apartheid in modernity. Education is intersectional; it is directly linked to the bulk of our societal ills. From crime, to poor health, substance abuse, mental illnesses, poverty, and beyond, the issues we face predominantly derive from a lack of meaningful education in our society.
Meaningful education is not only confined to our classrooms; it is embedded throughout our society. It is the responsibilities, values and morals that are upheld in our society that shape children's identities in their formative years. And it is not only the individual values, but the collective morality of a community that truly influences the lives of children.
Our post-apartheid system of governance does not reflect one that puts education at the forefront. The rate of violence among schoolchildren is appalling, and it is certainly not confined to the schoolyard — it spills over into the streets, communities, and homes. These are the realities of educators. They emerge from higher education training, straight into the teaching environment, and they are expected to do much more than just teach. Educators are essentially playing a critical role in shaping learners' development academically, socially, emotionally, and beyond.
There are numerous responses that have been provided in addressing challenges around our nation's education system. Overcrowding can be easily resolved by segmenting students into smaller, manageable groups and scheduling their classes accordingly. Countless students, trainers and experts are willing to drive forward sports, arts and culture in our schools. Sports, arts and culture are a major component of social cohesion and cultural identity. It is a key gateway to furthering one's skills and education. From music to debating to cultural exchanges, these are vital elements of education themselves.
It is, therefore, devastating that many schools across our society do not even bother to instil sports, arts, or culture into their school system. It is deeply unfortunate that, in our current society, the value of sports, arts and culture remains completely sidelined.
This ultimately begs the question: Why is there such rampant undermining of the value of sports, arts and culture in our education systems? Furthermore, why is there seemingly no effort to drive collaboration between the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, and the Department of Basic Education? More importantly, why on earth is there no collaboration between the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Higher Education? The answer, in my view, is the blatant lack of effort, coupled with inadequate commitment and minimal engagement.
This issue creates a ripple effect in the rest of our society, and most importantly, the education of our youth. Across our government departments, there is an unspeakable amount of nonchalance and arrogance. Our leadership bodies are riddled with money-grubbing, pompous, corrupt individuals who only care to line their own pockets, while hordes of vulnerable children are left to navigate broken systems, crumbling schools, and communities stripped of opportunity and dignity.
Promises of reform are often tossed about during election seasons like confetti, only to be forgotten the moment power is secured. Meanwhile, the needs of the most defenceless — those without votes, wealth, or voices — are brushed aside in favour of backroom deals and self-serving agendas. South Africa's children are collateral damage in a political game. This grotesque imbalance isn't just negligence; it is moral failure dressed in expensive suits. It is calculated lies. It is tyranny masked as public service.
For far too long, our society has been a victim of negligence at the highest levels of leadership. This perpetually apathetic approach to education will certainly be our greatest downfall.
We are standing by and watching the disintegration of our education systems and the collapse of societal values. We are at a crossroads in our society, one where educators are needed now more than ever. The systemic neglect of children is a national emergency and needs to be immediately addressed. Neglect is a choice. We cannot afford to pay the price for the wrong choices when our democracy is still so young.
Our legacy will be defined by how we protect those who cannot protect themselves, and truly, a nation is only as strong as how it treats its most vulnerable. Justice begins at the roots — and children are the roots of our society. If we fail our children, we fail our future.
* Tswelopele Makoe is a gender and social justice activist and editor at Global South Media Network. She is a researcher, columnist, and an Andrew W Mellon scholar at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own.
** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.