Women in education - addressing SA's education crisis to empower and liberate women

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the failings in the public-school system, South Africa faced an education crisis.

And this sentiment was brought to the fore by guest speakers at the recent Women in Education panel discussion, hosted online as part of Investec’s Women Behind the Mask series, which highlighted how the country's education system perpetuates and amplifies societal and gender-based inequalities. 

“The government currently spends the greatest proportion of its budget on education and yet we continually rank near the bottom of various global competitiveness reports,” explains Stacey Brewer, co-founder and CEO of Sparks Schools.

Coupled with issues around the quality of teaching and the curriculum, access, capacity, affordability and structural societal issues continue to constrain the emancipation of historically disadvantaged and underprivileged sectors in society, with females suffering disproportionately more than males.

“Access to education at both the basic and higher education levels remain a huge issue,” explains Samara Totaram, CFO of Stadio and a Director at PSG Capital.

“Females in particular often don't know that they can access education, specifically from a higher education perspective. The major challenge we face is communicating this to women, particularly those in disadvantaged communities.”

“There are young girls from disadvantaged communities that don't even make it to Grade 7. We need to transform our education system in a way that inspires these young girls to want to learn. We need to teach them that education can make a difference to their lives and spark their curiosity about the opportunities that completing their schooling creates,” comments Marinella Buscaglia(image), Head of Client Coverage at Investec.

Totaram asserts: “The country needs to educate and encourage women to break free from the cycle that South Africa's history has imposed on specific sectors of society.” This is, in fact, indicative of the country's broader underlying education challenge.

“If you want to address South Africa's education crisis, you've got to address the inferiority complex that was deliberately engineered as part of the colonial project and, later, the apartheid programme,” states renowned academic and activist, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele.

“The root cause of our crisis resides in the fact that the majority of South Africans who survived this multi-generational trauma have internalised the notion that they are inferior and cannot compete with the minority who are the do

minant population.”

Dr. Ramphele believes that this inherent inferiority complex lowers expectations within society among black teachers and pupils, which affects their performance. “And expectations among women are even lower,” she adds.

“I agree with this notion that we expect very little from our children. And I think it's absolutely devastating because they can achieve and thrive in the right system and environment,” continues Brewer.

What the broader education system lacks and sorely needs to address these structural issues is a programme that empowers and uplifts underprivileged children.

“The LEAP School System as an example has placed their thinking and approach in this direction, focused on producing critical thinkers who believe that they are enough in themselves and that they've got something to contribute. Creating a journey in self-liberation from the inferiority complex and an affirmation of the child's capacity to excel is crucial to the change needed,” says Ramphele.

The other elephant in the room that relates to female empowerment is what we teach young boys at school, asserts Dr. Ramphele.

“If you make women powerful but don't deal with the insecurities of young men in a patriarchal system, you will perpetuate inequality and gender-based violence. We need to address this issue in a manner similar to the LEAP School model, which is designed in a way that every young student embraces the values of gender equality and human rights.”

In addition to these programmes, Dr. Ramphele believes that schools need to change their curriculum.

“The way history is formulated remains male dominated, and it still only focuses on the colonial period after 1652. We need to teach children our history before Jan van Riebeeck, as well as change the way we teach. Teaching methods are still very authoritarian. Teachers don't listen and don't encourage questions.”

And even when female students beat the odds and make it into the workplace, they still face struggles. 

“When young girls enter an organisation, they often lack the confidence to know and believe that they are equal to or better than their male counterparts, even if they have a good quality education,” adds Buscaglia.

“This insecurity persists amid concerns that perhaps they have to work harder and outperform their male counterparts to get ahead.”

“If we want to equip our future women leaders with the necessary skills to deal with society's centuries-old patriarchal structure, we have to focus on building their confidence at school level,” suggests Totaram.

“However, we aren't going to solve the education crisis with one or two institutions. The public and private sectors, including the investment community, need to come together and pool resources to build the education system because, without better education, particularly for women, we cannot expect to grow as a nation,” she concludes.