By Tswelopele Makoe
THE world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai, once earnestly affirmed a simple truth: “One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world”.
This remark is echoed across the globe this month of September, as we celebrate Literacy Month.
This quote is a particularly chilling truth, as closer to home, the Western Cape Education Department announced that approximately 2 400 teaching jobs will be cut as of January 1, 2025.
The department announced that this decision came about as a result of severe budget shortfalls amounting to a staggering R3.8 billion.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is in an even worse situation, with a R4 billion budget deficit resulting in the loss of over 11 092 teaching posts. Gauteng, which has the second-largest education system after KZN, is exploring cost-saving measures that could radically impact teaching positions.
This announcement has generated widespread outrage, particularly due to the dire economic disparities and lack of job opportunities that ravage the nation. The issues here are a multitude: from mismanagement of pertinent funds to the skyrocketing cost of living, to the perilous undermining of educators in our society.
This undermining does not only take place politically, but institutionally, and internally.
Teachers undertake one of the most transformative roles in shaping a society, yet they are amongst the least protected by our national systems.
According to the Department of Basic Education, educator’s wages constitute over 80% of the total education expenditures across several provinces, which ultimately negatively impact the attainment of resources, essential infrastructure, and the recruitment of new teachers.
I argue, however, that an increase - and prioritisation - of wages in South Africa has been a necessary feat. The price of living has absolutely proliferated, leaving over half of the nation in a dire economic situation.
The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group announced back in March of this year, that the cost of a basic nutritional food basket for a family of four in South Africa is R3 694.62 – a 7.7% increase from last year. This amount does not even account for housing, transport, healthcare, educational costs, and many other living expenses.
In July, BusinessTech discussed the latest data pertaining to the South African public education system, which employs approximately 410 000 teachers across 25 000 schools.
These teachers’ salaries are derived directly from tax, which flows towards the Department of Basic Education. With the steadily rapid rise in the cost of living, taxpayers - and as a result, educators - should not be bearing the brunt of our nation’s economic woes.
As of this year, public schools cater for more than 12.7 million pupils.
Public schools across the nation have been on a steady decline for an extensive period of time now.
Much of the challenges that they face stem from widespread socio-economic disparities, a serious lack of resources and funding, a lack of infrastructural development, out-dated curricula and internal politics, to name but a few.
This is compounded by the fact that many of these schools deal with additional external pressures, such as internal systemic conflicts and pressures, as well as criminals and extortion mafias.
In South Africa, the fight for equality and empowerment through education has always been recognised. The fight for literacy and quality education has been an age-old plight in this country.
As far back as the early 1900s, there have been conflicts surrounding the establishment of proper schools with quality education.
During the years of the barbaric apartheid regime, hordes of schoolchildren across the nation were slaughtered, merely for speaking up against the substandard Bantu education system, that was intentionally crafted to subjugate black, coloured and Indian people.
In the recent decade alone, we have seen arduous battles for equitable and inclusive education, regardless of economic background.
The #FeesMustFall movement was a pinnacle of this battle, where the decolonisation of curriculum and equitable access to education was being fervently fought for across the entire nation.
This is worsened by the fact that the government continues to underfund and undercut pertinent structures of education, arts and culture. This means that every year, we are losing more of our indigenous education resources.
Our historical artefacts stored by bodies such as the Iziko Social History Centre are being dangerously overlooked and underfunded, despite them being a critical source of our indigenous heritage and history.
The ability to retain our highly valuable history is steadily slipping between our fingers.
In the last decade alone, we have lost various African libraries, and African educational resources that can never be replenished.
The truth is that the resources, libraries and histories that we embody are almost always single-handedly imparted by educators.
Teachers, especially in primary and secondary schools, are central to the transmission of critical education and the development of literacy in the nation.
They shape the most formidable minds in our society, and they fundamentally shape the active citizens of the future of our society.
Teachers are playing an incredibly crucial role in shaping the future of our society. They foster the intellectual and emotional development of young minds.
They are more than just educators, but also mentors and secondary parents, guiding students through their personal and professional development, while instilling the critical values and skills necessary for growth, advancement and success.
Educators actively undertake the role of the promotion of inclusive, stimulating learning environments, while inspiring curiosity, fostering creativity, and navigating complex social and ethical issues that fundamentally impact young people’s development.
Our valuation of young minds is directly reflected in our treatment of educators in our society. Their influence extends beyond the classroom, shaping communities, driving the next generation of leaders, innovators, and responsible citizens.
In essence, teachers are the cornerstone of a thriving society, as their dedication and commitment lay the foundation for a brighter, informed, empowered future.
In South Africa, we are renowned for having the best Constitution in the world, all the while, we live in the most unequal society on the planet. Outside of SA, there is no other society that has a higher gap between the rich and the poor.
Equity, in SA, is a constant battle, stemming from our deeply traumatic and unjust history.
Ultimately, we have seen the results of abject poverty and unemployment. We have seen how this adversely affects society, nevertheless young children.
As of last month, 81% of schoolchildren at the age of 10 are unable to read. The fight against illiteracy has been contended with since the dawn of our democracy in 1994.
Elderly generations have spent decades playing catch-up with education, in an attempt to improve their overall quality of life. We are falling deeper into the continuous cycle of disempowerment, unequal access, inequality and economic disparity.
The protection and proliferation of educators is central to us overcoming the challenges that have engulfed us for over a period of 30 years.
As we continue to move on into our national literacy month, my hope is that there is a radical shift towards the realisation of the momentous role played by educators.
By acknowledging and appreciating their efforts, we are reinforcing the importance of education as a cornerstone of a thriving, informed society.
Valuing teachers helps us to ensure that they are supported, motivated and equipped to foster the next generation of thinkers, innovators, and leaders.
Renowned musician and entrepreneur Will.i.am once remarkably asserted that: “You can rule ignorance; you can manipulate the illiterate; you can do whatever you want when a people are uneducated.”
This is a striking point that was echoed right here at home by prolific Black Consciousness leader Steve Bantu Biko - who was killed on 12 September 1977 while in apartheid police custody. Biko contended that “education is the most potent weapon of resistance, the education of our youth”. And former president Nelson Mandela also reiterated thus:
“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” If we do not educate ourselves and our children, we will forever be playing with fire, sacrificing ourselves, and obliterating our own futures.
Tswelopele Makoe is a Gender & Social Justice Activist and the Editor at Global South Media Network. She is a Researcher and Columnist, published weekly in the Sunday Independent, Independent Online (IOL), Global South Media Network (GSMN), Sunday Tribune and Eswatini Daily News. She is also an Andrew W Mellon scholar, pursuing an MA Ethics at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own.