Government vs private education: Public school pupils not in a fair fight

The issue of social inequality remains a serious problem and one area where this is most glaring is within the education sector, where public school pupils appear to be getting a raw deal compared to their private school counterparts.

As education expert Dr Suraiya Naicker explains, established private schools under the auspices of the Independent Examination Board (IEB) have the necessary resources and are able to offer more opportunities in terms of academic, sports, culture as well as support services such as psychological or career counselling, compared to government schools falling under the Department of Basic Education (DBE).

“For example, pupils can take more subjects in matric and yet excel at them all such as top pupils achieving nine to 11 distinctions.

“Parents have the resources to support learning such as enabling access to technology. They are able to afford interventions such as speech therapy if needed and even tuition and not just to catch up but also extra classes can be undertaken, as parents want their children to excel,” said Naicker.

According to Naicker, parents with children in private schools also tend to be more involved with their kids’ education.

Naicker says pupils are also able to start early and some private schools have baby sections, creches, and are able to start schooling two years before Grade R.

Culture of learning ingrained

Naicker says the management of teaching and learning is well tracked, with individualised support by academic and grade heads, along with smaller class sizes.

“The school ethos is also enabling. A culture of high expectations of pupils is promoted and organisational culture as a whole enables pupils to maximise their potential,” she explains.

“Not all public schools perform poorly, as there are schools that excel and pupils who excel. However, the inequities in the South African education system are alarmingly wide with large class size, access to technology, involvement of parents, and individualised learning being factors to be considered to close the inequity gap,” said Naicker.

Social roadblocks for public school pupils?

“Social ills are high, and teenage pregnancy and substance abuse are prevalent, while violence in schools also affects learning,” Naicker explains of the challenges faced in the country’s poorer public schools.

“There are thus systemic societal challenges that hinder learning and it is a positive move by the government to make Grade R compulsory in schooling,” Naicker said.

She said schools where pupils are underperforming need to receive meaningful support from school districts, resources to enable quality teaching and learning, including resources to manage psychosocial challenges, as well as school leaders with skills to enable progress.

Also Read: LISTEN: ‘The real 2022 matric pass rate is only 54.6%’ – DA

“In the interest of social justice, all education leaders can and must play a role to close the equity gap in South African education,” Naicker added.

General secretary for the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) Mugwena Maluleke says independent schools definitely benefit from more manageable class sizes, citing examples of private school teachers handling classrooms of between 22 and 25 pupils, whereas public school teachers typically have to manage classes with a minimum of 40 pupils.

“Public schools are accommodating more of working-class children who have a right to education while independent schools only admit well-off children.

ALSO READ: Overcrowding in public schools has become a national problem, says Motshekga

“Take for an example where a Grade 1 pupil in quintile 5 pays R7 500 per annum, while at independent schools parents pay R109 000 per annum for the same grade, and this money includes remedial and additional lessons at individual level,” said Maluleke.

“Individual attention, sports and recreation is paid for by the parents, while at public schools, parents have no money to pay for recreational facilities including coaching,” Maluleke said.

What are the major differences between public and private schools?

The minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga in recent weeks admitted there was a serious challenge of overcrowding in some schools.

Every year when the matric results are released, those of IEB schools are always at the top in terms of excellence.

The IEB class of 2022 scored a matric pass rate of 98.42%, while their DBE counterparts managed to get 80.1%.

ALSO READ: Matric results: 2022 IEB class gets ‘outstanding’ 98.42% pass rate after being hit hardest by Covid

According to Maluleke, another reason IEB schools score higher matric pass rates annually is because pupils at independent schools get early therapy if they need such paid for by parents.

“An example is where a pupil has language developmental issues, and accessing both speech and occupational therapy paid separately by the parent… and this might cost about R3 870 per month,” Maluleke added.

Executive director of the National Professional Teachers Organisation (Naptosa) Basil Manuel says it is very difficult to compare private and public schools.

“I often say it’s like comparing an ant to an elephant, the ant is a little more agile than the elephant but the elephant actually gets things done.

“The reality is that if you look at the IEB, their matric class was about 12 000 in total, while the DBE’s was 750 000, so that immediately gives you the difference and of course when you start comparing such vast numbers, you can see the challenges that come with running a system of plus 750 000 matriculants as opposed to 12 000 matriculants,” Manuel said.

Areas of concern DBE can improve on

“The IEB’s results are premised on the fact that parents are paying exceptionally high fees. They (parents) are in the best type of surroundings in terms of infrastructure and the like, and class sizes.

“Those are all the things the DBE struggles with, not in all the schools but in many of the schools, so the playing fields are definitely like day versus night. They are nowhere close to one another and that is where the problem lies,” said Manuel.

According to Manuel, the comparisons are simply odious, stressing that one should not be tempted to think it’s just a simple comparison.

“However, one of the things I think we can learn from them is that when it comes to class sizes, they make a difference when it comes to the quality of teaching, and the DBE needs to learn this because we can’t continue with class sizes that stretch into the 50s.

“I’m not saying we can get to the 15s, no, but we are saying let’s have respectable class sizes of 32 or 33. Those are the type of figures we need,” he said.

When it comes to school infrastructure, Manuel said something needs to be done urgently.

“Because the vast majority of ours are non-fee-paying children, we cannot ensure that we have the same type of infrastructure, but we must have infrastructure that protects the dignity of our children. That’s what the DBE must be doing.

“A mud school doesn’t, a school without proper ablution does not protect and look after the dignity of our children,” Manuel added.

Another education expert Prof Mary Metcalfe agrees that the IEB has a small segment of the overall population of families that can afford to pay private school fees, saying if the pupils from those families were in public schools, they would probably do just as well, which is not to say private schools offer amazing education.

Upon the release of the matric results recently, Metcalfe stressed the importance of not only celebrating the success of the few but that we must support the ‘weak’ and reduce our massive education inequalities. 

ALSO READ: Matric Class of 2022: Basic Education minister lauds the country’s top matriculants

“Our educational inequalities reflect obstinate social inequality and therefore, improving education is an indispensable component of achieving our social and economic goals.

“The starkest indicator of how poverty affects children at the most basic level is the number of pupils benefiting from the National Schools Nutrition Programme (NSNP) and this was one of the first actions of government in 1994,” said Metcalfe.

Metcalfe, who was at some stage MEC for Education in Gauteng, said greater respect must also be given to teachers working to ensure learning in contexts of socio-economic challenges.

Nationally, 68% of the class of 2022 attended ‘no-fee’ schools serving the poorest communities.

The figure for Limpopo is 92%, for Eastern Cape 86%, for Gauteng 38%, and for the Western Cape 35%.