EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA: PRESENT CONSTRAINTS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

Summary Decades of inequality in the provision of education in South Africa have led to a highly differential system, with far greater resources being made available, on a per capita basis, to the White population than to the Blacks. This article explores some of the challenges which will be faced by a new government in addressing these past inequities. Resumé Plusieurs décennies d'inégalié dans la fourniture de l'enseignement ont mené à un système hautement différentié, où de bien plus vastes ressources étaient, par chef, à la disposition de la population blanche comparée avec la population noire. Le présent article explore certains des défis auxquels fera face le nouveau gouvernement s'il veut s'adresser à ces inégalités du passé. Resumen Décadas de desigualdad en la provisión de educación en Sudáfrica han resultado en un sistema altamente diferenciado, en el cual la población blanca disfruta de mayores recursos per cápita que la población negra. El artículo explora algunos de los desafíos que deberá enfrentar un nuevo gobierno al estudiar estas injusticias pasadas

International Lessons for African Higher Education and Economy

This article distils some important lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa using case studies of three systems which have successfully linked their economic development and higher education policy and planning: namely Finland, South Korea, and North Carolina state in the USA. These lessons include the link between economic and education planning; the need for a high quality schooling system as the foundation for a productive higher education system; the importance of institutional differentiation, and the role of the state. Finally, it suggests reasons why policy makers should take note of the importance of higher education for development generally, and for economic development specifically

South Korea

노트 : Title: Linking higher education and economic developmentChapter 4 title: South Kore

Higher Education Financing in East and Southern Africa

This nine-country study of higher education financing in Africa includes three East African states (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda), five countries in southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa), and an Indian Ocean island state (Mauritius). Higher Education Financing in East and Southern Africa explores trends in financing policies, paying particular attention to the nature and extent of public sector funding of higher education, the growth of private financing (including both household financing and the growth of private higher education institutions) and the changing mix of financing instruments that these countries are developing in response to public sector financial constraints. This unique collection of African-country case studies draws attention to the remaining challenges around the financing of higher education in Africa, but also identifies good practices, lessons and common themes

Human resource development and growth: improving access to and equity in the provision of education and health services in South Africa

This paper demonstrates the importance of improving access to and equity in the provision of essential services such as education and health for enhancing human development. A major constraint to accelerating and sustaining economic growth in South Africa is the shortage of skilled human resources. Human capital formation (through appropriate education, training and health) is vital for growth. However, for sustained growth to reduce poverty and unemployment, human capital of a ‘higher order’ than the system is currently producing, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, must be generated. The paper reviews progress in the education and health sectors and identifies the challenges. It stresses the need for policy makers to recognise the link between education and health outcomes and the provision of clean water, adequate sanitation, cheap and accessible transport and effective nutrition programmes. Addressing only the education and health services is unlikely to lead to optimal outcomes in these sectors.

From Aid to Partnership. A Joint Review of Norwegian - South African Development Cooperation 1995-2001

This joint review of Norwegian – South African development cooperation was commissioned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD)/the Norwegian Embassy Pretoria and the South African National Treasury. The study provides an overview and an assessment of the Norwegian development assistance to South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994. Nearly one billion Norwegian kroner were disbursed from Norway to South Africa during the first seven years. A relatively high proportion of this aid has been channelled through Norwegian NGOs to a variety of private South African organisations. 25 percent of the aid has gone directly from the Norwegian State to the South African State. This report’s overall assessments and conclusions have both positive and negative elements. In some areas the Norwegian contribution has been highly relevant and effective, especially in some of the efforts to assist in developing new policies and planning institutional reform, such as in the support to the energy and fisheries sectors. The record is much more uneven in the Norwegian support to implementation and capacity building. The achievements have been fewer in the Norwegian support for poverty reduction and job creation. The study also welcomes the efforts to include a regional Southern African dimension in the co-operation programmes with South Africa, but finds that these regional components are small and suffer from an insufficient Norwegian strategy for assistance to regional co-operation. The review also notes that co-operation has been entered into between South African and Norwegian institutions in most areas. The political co-operation between the two countries is also judged to be solid and strong. The commercial and private sector co-operation on the other hand, is limited. Based on the lessons learnt and extensive interviews with stakeholders in both countries the review team recommends a continuation of the development co-operation programme. However, the study proposes significant changes in scope are focus and makes 18 sets of recommendations. A key proposal is the scaling up of support to regional development efforts in Southern Africa and a more systematic Norwegian support for regional cooperation

From Aid to Partnership. A Joint Review of Norwegian - South African Development Cooperation 1995-2001

This joint review of Norwegian – South African development cooperation was commissioned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD)/the Norwegian Embassy Pretoria and the South African National Treasury. The study provides an overview and an assessment of the Norwegian development assistance to South Africa since the first democratic elections in 1994. Nearly one billion Norwegian kroner were disbursed from Norway to South Africa during the first seven years. A relatively high proportion of this aid has been channelled through Norwegian NGOs to a variety of private South African organisations. 25 percent of the aid has gone directly from the Norwegian State to the South African State. This report’s overall assessments and conclusions have both positive and negative elements. In some areas the Norwegian contribution has been highly relevant and effective, especially in some of the efforts to assist in developing new policies and planning institutional reform, such as in the support to the energy and fisheries sectors. The record is much more uneven in the Norwegian support to implementation and capacity building. The achievements have been fewer in the Norwegian support for poverty reduction and job creation. The study also welcomes the efforts to include a regional Southern African dimension in the co-operation programmes with South Africa, but finds that these regional components are small and suffer from an insufficient Norwegian strategy for assistance to regional co-operation. The review also notes that co-operation has been entered into between South African and Norwegian institutions in most areas. The political co-operation between the two countries is also judged to be solid and strong. The commercial and private sector co-operation on the other hand, is limited. Based on the lessons learnt and extensive interviews with stakeholders in both countries the review team recommends a continuation of the development co-operation programme. However, the study proposes significant changes in scope are focus and makes 18 sets of recommendations. A key proposal is the scaling up of support to regional development efforts in Southern Africa and a more systematic Norwegian support for regional cooperation

Universities and economic development in Africa

Chapter 7 comprises edited excerpts from the first two chapters of the publication Universities and Economic Development in Africa (Cloete et al. 2011). The chapter draws on empirical evidence to establish what the predominant notions of the roles of African universities are – both at institutional and government levels. It shows that the notions are mixed and often not in alignment within higher education systems, and even if there is a strong notion of the development role of the university as knowledge producer and/or system-level alignment, the knowledge production aspirations are not matched by the realities at the coal-face