PRIVATE SCHOOLS: What is the attraction?
BY ANDILE MAKHOLWA, 22 JANUARY 2015
Is SA’s middle class rejecting the country’s public school system?
Education experts have been pondering this question amid the growing demand for private schooling despite the high fees many of them charge.
The number of learners attending independent schools has risen by 40% over the past five years. At the end of last year, there were 1681 registered independent schools with 538 421 pupils, according to the department of basic education’s 2014 School Realities report. In 2009, there were 1 174 independent schools with 386 098 learners.
The most sought-after boarding schools charge anything from R140 000/year to R209 000/year, while premium day schools demand an average of R90 000/year.
With listed groups AdvTech and Curro having paved the way, many entrepreneurs are setting up chain schools.
Graeme Bloch, of the Wits School of Governance, says the numbers will continue to rise because many parents are disillusioned with the education offered at their local public schools. “It’s a rejection of the public school system,” says Bloch.
He says that though there has been some improvement, in many cases the system continues to underperform, as principals and education officials are not held accountable. Furthermore, schools in the public sector frequently suffer from personnel shortages and a lack of study resources.
Roger Cameron, CEO of the Anglican Board of Education, makes a similar point. “There is a crisis in SA’s education. That is why independent schools are thriving. Many parents have lost faith in the ability of the state to provide quality education.”
The Anglican Church, which played a critical role in the 19th century by setting up missionary schools in SA, plans to regain some of the territory it has lost in education.
While trying to help government improve public schools, it’s also starting up new schools in all 27 of its dioceses in SA. It has 49 schools at present.
“Providing education is not just a job to be done, it’s a calling,” says Cameron.
Nic Spaull, an education researcher in the economics department at Stellenbosch University, says the independent school sector is relatively small in SA. “Only 4% of SA students are enrolled in independent schools here, and about 90% of these schools are not-for-profit institutions,” he says. “Independent schools make up roughly 8% of SA schools [the figure is higher than the 4% of students due to smaller class sizes on average]. This is very different to the situation in East Africa, Pakistan or India, for example.”
Further, he says, the independent schools sector is starting from a low base, which makes it possible to get high rates of growth.
“We know there has been growth in the black middle class over the past decade, and many of these parents realise how pivotal high-quality education is for the life chances of their children. Because there are only limited places available in the ‘high functioning’ fee-charging public schools, many parents are looking to independent schools as an alternative.”
Lebogang Montjane, executive director of the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (Isasa), says the days are gone when independent schools were exclusively for the rich. He says the availability of low-and mid-fee schools means many tax paying parents can find an independent school they can afford. He disagrees that this reflects the parents’ rejection of public schooling. “For most parents, that’s not the case. Parents are exercising their rights to choose the type of education they want for their children. Parents are choosing independent schools on the basis of, for example, religion, class size, school ethos and language.”
He says SA is following international trends of chain schools becoming prominent. “What we are seeing now is the result of market forces in education, following international trends [of companies looking] at efficiencies and how to maximise resources for the greatest output.”
On fees, Montjane says educational inflation is generally high, but when compared with the situation elsewhere, SA’s private schools are relatively cheap.
“Some of the mid-and low-fee independent schools are cheaper than former Model C public schools,” he says.
He adds: “Money spent on education is money well spent. We must not look at the expense, but at the return on investment.”
But does private always mean quality? Spaull says not much research has been done to compare the performance of independent schools with public schools in SA.
“Students who can afford to go to independent schools are generally different from those who cannot. Their parents are usually better educated, there are more resources at home, they are more likely to go to a high-quality preschool, and so forth. So these students would in all likelihood do better than students enrolled in many public schools even if the public school pupils were to attend the same school,” he says.
Montjane says there are both good and bad private schools. Though independent schools generally outperform public schools, matric results do not in themselves indicate the quality of a school.
“A good-quality school is also strong in activities such as drama, arts, music, sports, community service and so forth. These all offer important lessons that prepare children for a productive life. In addition, in a quality school there is usually an attitude of dedication to the children,” he says.
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