Western Cape Education Sector Analysis: World Bank Report

Meeting report

Western Cape Minister of Education remarks
Western Cape Minister David Maynier introduced the World Bank and the Western Cape Education Department teams led by Mr Salie Abrahams, WCED Deputy Director General for Education Planning, and Ms Elizabeth Ninan, World Bank Program Leader for Human Development.

Western Cape Minister Maynier welcomed the opportunity to present the Western Cape Education Sector Analysis, conducted in collaboration with the World Bank, for the Western Cape. This analysis was a first of its kind and would significantly assist WCED in setting long-term priorities, particularly in improving learning outcomes and expanding access to education across the Western Cape. He expressed his deep sadness about the tragic loss of a student who had passed away earlier that morning due to gang violence. He extended condolences to the school community and the broader community at large.

Western Cape Education Sector Analysis
The briefing dealt with the objective of the education sector analysis; state of the education sector – global, national and regional; main recommendations from the analysis and building on global and local evidence on how to improve foundation learning.

The objective of the research was to inform the prioritization of policy actions and reforms aimed at improving access, quality and equity in the provincial education system. The statistics revealed that the Western Cape experienced the highest annual growth rate for learners (Grade 1-12) amongst the nine provinces. The majority of learners are not at the expected literacy and numeracy level especially post-Covid pandemic. There was also a large variation in learning ability within the classroom which makes teaching challenging.


Despite these challenges, there have been notable improvements in areas such as the annual measurement of learning performance, the provision of additional subsidies for poor and vulnerable learners, and the implementation of educational innovations and services.

Key recommendations for improving the system include:
- Strengthening the foundations of learning,
- Enhancing teacher effectiveness in the classroom,
- Investing in innovative education reforms.

The recommendations meant improving standards in Early Grade Literacy and Numeracy; focusing on teaching approaches; transitioning from operational research to a systematic program that can be scaled and sustained; and setting ambitious targets to improve literacy and numeracy by age 10 (see document for full details).

Discussion
Mr F Christians (ACDP) commended the presenters for the informative report on the education system. He raised concerns about the challenges faced by children from disadvantaged backgrounds before they even begin Grade R or Early Childhood Development (ECD), questioning WCED how it plans to ensure that children from impoverished and dysfunctional homes are adequately supported so they do not fall behind. He highlighted the underperformance in schools located in poor areas, asking how the education system is addressing these disparities.

Mr Christians spoke about the safety problems in schools, particularly due to gang violence, which contributes to teachers retiring early in their careers. He acknowledged the value of using international statistics and best practices to inform and improve South Africa’s education system, suggesting that global insights could help tackle the challenges faced by local schools.

Mr Salie Abrahams of WCED acknowledged the importance of both tackling immediate administrative challenges and long-term priority planning. He highlighted the various disparities faced by children at the early learning stage, such as cognitive development, emergent numeracy and literacy, fine motor skills, and life skills, which could hinder their progress. These issues stem from factors like health, nutrition, and social development. WCED is working on building an integrated service model to address these disparities, with a focus on equity. Addressing these requires collaboration with other departments, such as the Department of Social Development and the Department of Health.

While acknowledging the progress made in the foundation phase to create a homogenous environment in terms of class sizes and safety, children entering Grade R will inevitably start at different levels. Therefore, early learning programs must be tailored to meet these varying needs and may require further input from health, social development, and nutrition services. On violence in schools, he acknowledged its negative impact on both children and teachers, recognizing that schools in unsafe environments tend to see poorer performance.

WCED is prioritizing violence reduction as a key focus, aiming to improve safety for both teachers and students. Additionally, Mr Abrahams emphasized the importance of improving the teaching and learning environment, noting that teacher retention and motivation are central to WCED’s strategy. He commended the strong teaching staff in the province, which strengthens the education system. He affirmed that while progress has been made, there is broad consensus that more can and should be done based on the research conducted by the World Bank.

Mr Abrahams reassured the Committee that the WCED is committed to setting more goals, making further improvements, and tackling challenges to enhance the education system.

Ms Elizabeth Ninan, World Bank Program Leader for Human Development, commented on children starting school with differing ability levels, noting that South Africa has assessments in place to measure student progress and to ensure they meet minimum benchmarks. However, many students fail to meet these standards, citing that approximately 81% of students cannot read for meaning by age 10.

South Africa has established specific oral reading fluency (ORF) benchmarks, such as 30 words per minute by the end of Grade 2, 50 words per minute by Grade 3, and 70 words per minute by Grade 4 in English, with similar benchmarks for Nguni languages. These benchmarks should be applied in classrooms to ensure that all students receive the necessary support. Ms Ninan advocated for a personalized approach, especially for students falling behind, while also stressing the importance of supporting high achievers.

Ms Ninan emphasized that there are sufficient tools and benchmarks specifically designed for the South African context, which, if properly utilized, can help improve literacy levels. She also highlighted the need for teachers to adjust their teaching methods based on student understanding; for example, if 60% of the class cannot grasp the lesson, it should be repeated from the basics, whereas if only 10% is struggling, targeted support should be provided. She emphasized the science behind teaching children how to read.

Ms Ninan acknowledged the tragic incident of a student being killed at school, expressing sympathy for the loss and its traumatic impact on both students and teachers. She had heard that the Western Cape’s “boots on the ground” program, aimed at identifying high-crime areas and working with police and security forces, could help address the violence affecting both students and teachers.

Ms Ninan praised South Africa for compensating its teachers well compared to other professions requiring similar qualifications, suggesting that the government should capitalize on this to encourage more students to pursue teaching careers.

In closing, Minister Maynier thanked Mr Christians for his compliments about the Education Sector Analysis eport and for addressing the case study of Brazil's Sobral Municipality and its significant progress in foundational learning. It demonstrated that improving literacy rates among foundation phase learners is achievable, even in contexts marked by severe inequality, such as in Brazil and South Africa. It is a very important lesson that it is possible to achieve these improvements.

The Chairperson thanked the presenters for their insightful contributions and commended the work done by the World Bank. He released the delegation.

Committee resolutions
The Chairperson commended WCED and World Bank in undertaking this analysis of education and the report they produced. He encouraged the Committee to support WCED to develop and implement the initiatives proposed both in a short and longer term. WCED should also motivate the impact that this will have on its budget and operational aspects.

Mr Christians was concerned about ECD and getting children on the same baseline before they even enroll into Grade R. What is WCED doing about the huge gap between ECD and Grade R? The numeracy and literacy problems come from that backlog. What is government doing to get the children on the same level before they start Grade R?

The Chairperson agreed about the importance of ECD in preparing children for the learning phase. It is a transversal issue requiring collaboration between multiple departments such as education, health and social development. He acknowledged the complexity of the work involved in improving the prospects of young children entering the education system. WCED should be encouraged to explore how best to support and build this system.

The Chairperson highlighted the need to ensure that ECD benchmarks are implemented, monitored, and evaluated regularly, with a clear framework and objectives. It was important to improve teacher effectiveness, particularly in dealing with challenges such as reading, literacy, and numeracy, which are critical for broader learner performance. Teachers must be adequately supported in these areas. He noted the potential role of the private sector in education, particularly data collection and analysis.

The Chairperson suggested that the Committee request that WCED unpack and prioritize these objectives into manageable, bite-sized tasks, with a focus on addressing them systematically over time.

Mr M Booysen (DA) supported the resolution suggested by the Chairperson.

In closing, the Chairperson found the session to be worthwhile in gaining an understanding of the World Bank analysis for WCED.

The meeting was adjourned.