(Debate in parliament: Adjustment Budget for the Department of Basic Education)
Basic education finds itself on the frontlines in the fight against Covid-19 and is one of the sectors hardest hit by the economic impact of the national lockdown.
Combating malnutrition by means of school feeding schemes, especially when the economy is struggling, is one of the most important ways to absorb the negative impact of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the Department is not considered to be one of those in the frontlines in the fight against Covid-19 and must be satisfied with a budget that has been reduced by a nett amount of R2,1 billion.
It is impossible to determine the impact that Covid-19 has on schools by looking at the national budget for Basic Education, because execution is financed by provincial budgets. We do know that the Division of Revenue Act did reduce the budgets for provinces considerably. And there is no doubt great inequality in the country's educational system.
International comparisons often provide more clarity. Finland and Cuba are two diverse countries with one thing in common: Their educational systems are considered to be some of the very best in the world. Both countries succeeded in taking a fairly poor educational system and bringing it to its current level within only one generation.
Furthermore, neither one used extraordinary large budgets to achieve this; instead they fostered a culture in which communities cherish education as a shared treasure and teachers view their task as a calling and not just another job.
The source of inequality in South African education revolves around the question of how teachers view their vocation. Although the Volmink report indicated serious transgressions concerning money for posts, no prosecution followed.
Some teachers belong to a trade union that believes it is acceptable to strike if things are not the way you want them. For others, the mere thought of a teacher on strike is repulsive. Thousands of so-called SGB teachers across the country earn a fraction of the salaries that teachers employed by the government earn.
And still it makes no difference to their commitment to their jobs or the community's appreciation for the work they do.
That is the most important inequality in the South African educational sector. When education is seen as a calling, no crisis can derail it. When it is seen as just another job, there is always some or other crisis.
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