Delivery of a quality education to the previously disadvantaged South African

Abstract

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project was undertaken to highlight the need for funding from private enterprises who are dependent on a competent workforce. This funding would be utilised to address the gaps of learning prevalent in the education space that prevents this competency from materialising. Star Schools have identified and addressed this gap. Funding from private companies is helping to put together incubator programmes which will tackle this problem, especially in rural communities in South Africa. The problem that Star Schools faces is that this funding has dwindled due to stressful economic climates and failure on the part of CSI managers to translate the value of the programme to the bottom line of the business. The need for the funding is emphasised through the improvement shown in the learner results. This improvement generates a calibre of learner that can enrol in tertiary programmes. Once the tertiary qualification is gained, and the learner gainfully employed, an economic benefit can be realised. This has been calculated to a monetary value, based on the field of tertiary study, which is compared to the donors’ initial investment. This comparison allows one to determine the benefits to the organisation and whether the programme has contributed to the pool of competent labour needed to sustain the business. The unintended consequence of sustaining these projects is that it helps fulfil governments’ Medium-term Strategic Framework (MTSF), and National Development Plan (NDP) goals. These positives align to the government’s strategy of building a stronger foundation for South Africa to sustain and build upon its economic goals. By promoting educational goals, youth are empowered to sustain their own future goals (Akoojee, Nkomo & Nkomo, 2008). Being equipped with the skills set that is lacking in the work environment, would enable youth to find and sustain jobs. This helps decrease unemployment and poverty, thereby achieving a key goal of both the MTSF and NDP plans. Five companies were approached to take part in the survey . Four of which completed it. The aim of the survey was to determine what their intentions were in funding the programme. The assumption at the start of the research was that funding was provided to boost CSI points for BBBEE scoring, as well as a tax write-off for donation expense. On concluding the research, each company had different intentions in mind. AACI funded learners in the hope of generating a competent pool of learners in the STEM subjects, (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). They were looking at promoting mathematics and science in senior secondary education. They felt that these subjects needed to be promoted to foster an interest in the STEM fields, as the lack of students in these fields would be detrimental to their business in the long term. The results of the learners have proven that AACI attainted their goal (Charette, 2013). Selati Sugar had the same goal in mind but geared towards the Nkomazi Municipality. One of the key performance areas of the Nkomazi Municipality (where this programme operates), is to ‘initiate capacity building programmes that contribute to the development of employable, educated and skilled citizens’. Selati Sugar is the key contributor in assisting the municipality with achieving this objective. Furthermore, the programme is contributing towards the realisation of the National Development Plan, which is South Africa’s vision for 2030 and the goals laid out by the Department of Basic Education. The challenge faced by Selati Sugar was that the programme impacted negatively on their finances and faced closure. Selati have invested over R8.6 million, over the past twelve years. 46.2% of the alumni that attended these programmes were tracked down and responded to surveys regarding the benefits that they have derived from the programme. The earnings from this sample equate to approximately R76 million per annum. If equated to a thirty-year work life cycle, the impact is close to R2 billion in the South African economy. The problem that the donor encountered was that they could not sustain the funding. This is the reason for the research information being tracked to 2015 and not a more recent time frame. Star Schools has worked tirelessly in finding ways that the programme could be restored and is happy that through this research, a collaborative partner was found in Sasol. This joint collaboration will commence this year and hopefully continue. The Meyerton Metalloys programme, also geared towards the improvement of mathematics and science for learners, chose not to benchmark and thereby choose learners from various schools, which is the manner that Star Schools would choose learners for the programmes. The differentiating factor of the Meyerton programme was that all learners came from one school, i.e. Meyerton High School. Meyerton Metalloys wanted to fund a specific school, with the intention of standardising the learners’ environment. They felt that this would provide a clearer result regarding the impact of the programme. Their aim in funding the programme was to ensure that the mathematics and science results obtained for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations was of a higher quality than what was previously produced and would lead to a higher pass rate. The results of the programme showed a move from a pass rate in 2016 of 70% to a pass rate of 95.8% in 2017. The success of the programme was not only attributed to Star Schools and Meyerton Metalloys, but also to the dedication of the principal in driving the programme. This type of partnership, if replicated across South Africa, has the potential to boost not just the matriculation pass rate, but also the quality of the pass achieved. The Hotazel Manganese grade 12 programme is a 2017 Northern Cape Saturday School Programme which sponsors 300 candidates who attend schools located in the Ga-segonyana and Joe Morolong district municipalities. Learners are divided into two groups. The split into two groups was based on learner performance in the Star Schools benchmark tests. The reason for the split was to allow for a more targeted intervention that dealt specifically with the academic needs of both groups. It is noteworthy to report that approximately 70% of the group scoring +16% in the tests, attend schools in Ga-segonyana, while approximately 70% of the group scoring -15% in the tests mainly attend schools in Joe Morolong. The results obtained by the two groups differ substantially. Joe Morolong is the poorer of the two districts. However, due to the lack of foundational knowledge and problem-solving skills discovered in the latter group, their results were not as impressive as the former group who achieved +16% in their bench mark tests. This uncovered a serious flaw in the education system where learners were promoted to higher grades without having achieved competency in the foundation phases of schooling. This flaw would explain the large dropout rate of learners at grade 10 level. 2017 marked the year that the Multiple Examination Opportunity (MEO) option was made available to learners. MEO allows learners to be examined on a limited number of subjects in the first sitting of the NSC examination and be examined on the remaining subjects in the subsequent examination. The group who achieved less than 15% in their bench mark would have benefited from this option, as it would have meant that they would have received an increased amount of tuition to pass well in the NSC exams. This programme was specifically aimed at addressing the foundational problems that learners faced. Since 2017 was the year of implementation, 2019 would be the year when the results for the initial grade 10 cohort would prove its impact. The grade 12 results achieved have shown that the programme in its first year gained success. This programme’s results are included in order to highlight the impact of a lack of foundational skills and the negative effect that progressing learners have. The scope of the Grade 9 Mathematics Programme was to equip learners from K.P. Toto Secondary with the foundation skills necessary to succeed in mathematics and thus lead to improved beneficiary results in the subject. This, in turn, would encourage more learners to select mathematics in the FET phase of their schooling, with the long-term objective of enabling more students to enter the fields of engineering or other fields where mathematics is a prerequisite for acceptance. Although the programme was intended to solidify foundations and help learners with the application of basic skills, the analysis found that learners lacked basic mathematics skills. Educators have suggested that the programme be implemented at grade 8 level, which is when learners are introduced to basic skills. They have observed that the programme outcomes may be more successful if learners are assisted one grade earlier, and if the Star Schools programme works in tandem with content delivered by educators. This type of collaboration and partnership called for, has proved successful in the Meyerton project run by Star Schools and may prove to be the solution to addressing this lack of basic skills which are needed for learners to excel at matriculation level and beyond (Todd & Mason, 2005). The objectives of each donor in funding the incubator programmes may vary in focus, but the goal remains the same in that they seek to help build and create a competent pool of labour, which is essential to the sustainability of business. Businesses in South Africa are labour intensive and have been found to be lacking in fields where the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects are key components. This objective has been threatened due to lack of funding. The results that learners produce because of these programmes will ensure that competent labour for business can be sustained. Without these programmes, this pool will dwindle, and the result will be a collapse in the labour market, which will lead to the failure of business. The solution that this project provided is a simple one. Cross subsidisation from multiple donors, for one or more projects, will ensure that these projects are sustained and will grow. The competent pool of labour for business will therefore be sustained.