According to Statistics South Africa`s 2019 General Household Survey (GHS), around 14.6 million learners attended school in 2019. The largest percentage of these learners attended schools in KwaZulu-Natal (21.8%) and Gauteng (19.7%). Although only 6.5% of learners attended private schools, there were large differences between provinces. While 13.6% of learners in Gauteng and 8.2% of learners in the Western Cape attended private schools, only 3.5% of learners in KwaZulu-Natal and 3.8% in the Eastern Cape attended such institutions. Large differences were also observed in the means of transport to school. Almost two-thirds (65.9%) of learners walked to school, while 13.9% used private vehicles. Another 5.2% travelled to school by taxi or minibus. The survey found that about 85.8% of learners took 30 minutes or less to get to school. In addition, it appeared that most learners (84.1%) preferred to go to the such institution closest to their place of residence.
Participation in educational institutions was virtually universal at the age of 15 (the last age of compulsory education) (96.6%). About two-thirds (64.3%) of students were still in school at age 18, which is usually the age at which students leave Grade 12. However, a remarkable percentage of learners remained in primary and secondary schools long after leaving them. Umalusi derives its mandate from the National Framework Law on Qualifications of 2008 and the Law on Quality Assurance in Education and Training of 2001. As an external and independent quality assurance body, the Council`s mandate is to set and maintain education and training standards through the development and governance of the Education and Training Qualifications sub-framework. From about the 1930s onwards, the vast majority of schools for black students in South Africa were run by missions and often with government assistance. However, most children did not attend these schools. In 1949, the government appointed a commission headed by anthropologist W.W.M. Eiselen to study the education of indigenous South Africans and make recommendations. The report of the Eiselen Commission (1951) called on the government to adopt education for black South Africans in order to integrate it into an overall socio-economic plan for the country.
In addition, the report states that school education should be adapted to the needs and values of the cultures of the communities in which schools are located. The Commission`s regulations were generally followed by the Bantu Education Act. People without formal education were most common in Limpopo (7.1%), North West (6.6%) and Mpumalanga (6.1%) and least likely in the Western Cape (1.2%) and Gauteng (1.3%). The figure shows that 24.5% of those aged 20 and over obtained educational qualifications at or below Grade 9. Grade 9 is the last year of high school, and learners can leave school after graduation or at age 15, whichever comes first. People with lower or lower secondary education were most common in the Eastern Cape (41.4 per cent) and the Northern Cape (38.8 per cent). At the national level, three-tenths (30.8%) of people aged 20 and over have reached grade 12, while 15.4% have acquired post-school qualifications. Post-school qualifications were most common in Gauteng (21.8%) and Western Cape (17.5%) and least common in the Northern Cape (9.2%) and North West (10.7%). The Thutong portal is the online entry point to a full range of free educational resources, policy information and interactive services on all aspects of the South African school sector. As part of the focus on improving performance in higher education institutions, the department will seek to implement university capacity development plans, eliminate the certification backlog in VET colleges, and conduct campaigns on the use of open learning and teaching materials in continuing education institutions.
The OTQT was created by the Skills Development Act of 1998. Its mandate is to oversee the development and maintenance of the Professional Qualifications Sub-Framework in the National Qualifications Framework and to advise the Minister of Advanced Education, Science and Innovation on all policy matters relating to professional standards and qualifications. The Council`s quality assurance role and its management of the Vocational Qualifications Sub-Framework contribute to the wider post-school sector`s imperative to provide access to the highest quality education and training, leading to significant improvements in learning outcomes. Although most students are black Africans, the participation rate in education of this population group has remained proportionally low compared to Indian/Asian and white populations. The survey found that 84.6 percent of students in the 18-29 age cohort were enrolled in public colleges, and 7.6 percent of all people aged 18 to 29 were enrolled in higher education in metropolitan areas. High schools initially focused on Bantustans, reserves that the government had designated as homes for black South Africans. In the 1970s, however, the need for better-educated black workers led to the opening of secondary schools in Soweto, near Johannesburg. Non-white students were prevented from attending universities opened by the University Education Extension Act (1959). The Bantu Education Act was replaced by the Education and Training Act of 1979. Compulsory segregation in education ended with the passage of the South African Schools Act in 1996, but decades of substandard education and barriers to entry into historically white schools had left the majority of black South Africans far behind educational performance in the early 21st century. For example, almost one-quarter (24.3%) of 20-year-olds were still in high school. Although the percentage of learners who reached Grade 12 has increased, the survey shows that the percentage of people who have attended further education has remained relatively low among adolescents aged 19 to 22.
The proportion of students attending universities, technical colleges and vocational schools is very similar throughout the period under review. The proportion of learners attending free schools increased from 21.4% in 2007 to 66.2% in 2019. However, more than a fifth (21.6%) of learners who dropped out of school before the age of 18 cited lack of money (“no money for fees”) as the main reason. Other reasons were poor academic performance (22.6%), family responsibilities (8.6%) and a sense that education is useless (8.0%). The CHE is a statutory body within the meaning of the Higher Education Act 1997, as amended.