Skills, not just Grades, will shape South Africa's Future

IOL News

5 days ago

Are South African classrooms preparing students for the challenges of tomorrow's economy? As we celebrate World Youth Skills Day, Dumisani Tshabalala argues for the urgent need to prioritise skills development over traditional grading systems.
Image: IOL / Ron AI
Today, as South Africa celebrates World Youth Skills Day with speeches and hashtags, a persistent question echoes beneath the vuvuzelas: are our classrooms shaping the skills that tomorrow's economy will require, or merely polishing report cards for yesterday's tests?
Certificates hang proudly on lounge walls, but too many of their owners feel lost at university, adrift in their first jobs, or stuck when facing problems no textbook predicted. If we keep mistaking grades for growth, we risk creating paper success and practical stagnation.
Good schooling is not measured by how much content a learner can recall, but by how effectively that content becomes a foundation for skills. Ask a Grade 12 learner to quote Newton's laws, and many will oblige; ask the same learner to design a simple pulley and far fewer succeed. Mathematics, history, and life sciences should ignite curiosity, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. However, when facts are disconnected from purpose, the high marks they produce easily slip through opportunities and then collapse.
Learning must ignite before teaching can guide it towards tangible competence. In the best classrooms, every subject sparks discovery before delivering instruction. Mathematics exemplifies this: instead of rehearsing predictable routines, teachers nurture curiosity to explore beyond worked examples, build vocabulary to pose precise questions, and develop reasoning to test ideas. A pupil who models a pattern or challenges a claim is already practising mathematics as a language of inquiry.
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The consequences of neglecting skills are clear. Data from the Council on Higher Education's VitalStats Public Higher Education 2022 show that less than half of students who start university finish their degrees within six years, revealing weak analytical and academic-literacy foundations. Employers also notice this gap: the 2023 BankSETA and merSETA Employment Outlook survey found that nearly a third of firms view graduates' communication and collaboration skills as inadequate for the modern workplace. Graduates fluent in theory often go quiet in agile meetings; excellent with prescribed problems, they falter when the brief changes.
Technology raises the stakes. Artificial intelligence now drafts legal briefs, manages supply chains, and edits film trailers. The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs 2025 warns that roles like data-entry clerk and payroll officer are disappearing, while demand grows for AI prompt engineers, renewable energy technicians, and cybersecurity analysts. Those who can frame precise questions for machines will thrive; those who only consume algorithmic output will see opportunities diminish. Unless classrooms become training grounds for data literacy, complex problem-solving, and ethical judgment, digital prosperity will mainly benefit the already privileged.
Policy makers repeat the mantra of STEM and urge young South Africans to create jobs rather than queue for them. Yet fewer than one in six matriculants enrols in STEM degrees, and many arrive with little practice in risk-taking or teamwork, the heartbeat of enterprise. Laboratories, incubators and solar farms will not fill themselves with drill-and-practice pedagogy.
Where learning meets doing, the story transforms. Skills-focused lessons conclude with two silent questions: what did I practise, and where will I apply it next? An essay on Romeo and Juliet becomes training in persuasive rhetoric; a photosynthesis investigation turns into data-visualisation practice; coding a simple game introduces logic, debugging, and iteration. Learners who experience such teaching leave understanding not only that carbon has four valence electrons but also how to turn an idea into a prototype, and a prototype into a pitch.
Evidence is mounting. Pupils from under-resourced schools who accessed skill-rich programmes have earned doctorates, launched renewable energy firms, and stood on podiums at international robotics Olympiads. Their journeys trace back to classrooms that refuse to teach content in isolation from cognitive skills and capabilities.
If we are serious about change, the curriculum must treat knowledge as a gateway to skill: a history debate trains evidence‑based argument; a chemistry experiment teaches protocol design and teamwork; a coding project builds logic and resilience. Teacher preparation must shift from marking schemes to coaching inquiry and empathy. Without mentors who model collaboration, graduates will never lead diverse teams. Schools need industry partners, apprenticeships, maker spaces, and neighbourhood hackathons to keep learning relevant as sectors evolve. And accountability must shift from applause to analysis: celebrating record averages without asking whether pupils can write a project proposal or read a dataset is praise without purpose.
South Africa's youth population will reach its peak within the decade. Invest this potential in developing skills, and the nation will have a generation ready to heal, build, and innovate. Waste it, and the cost will be measured in alienation and lost potential. Enter any classroom, pose a meaningful challenge, and guide learners until understanding emerges. Replace rote routines with the rhythm of skill, and watch dormant talent come alive.
* Dumisani Tshabalala is Head of Academics at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.