A NEW APPROACH TO SA's EDUCATION SYSTEM

University student protests encompassing everything from the Rhodes Must Fall campaign to free tertiary education have taken a back seat for now. Tranquility has temporarily returned to university campuses simply because students have returned home for the holidays. However, tranquility will mutate into unrest again when students return to campus. This will occur because they have yet to succeed in their quest for transformation, which now also includes the issue of free tertiary education. The student unrest phenomenon is a complex one. The complexities are deep-seated, and are shaped by a mix of social, economic and political factors. Included in the mix is the perception that free tertiary education is a road map to solving the country's higher education problems. It appeals to our collective better nature because it is a fair, or good thing to do by remedying the wrongs of the past. The approach is a feel good and superficial one because it ignores fundamental issues associated with the trauma of social and political transformation. Free tertiary education is synonymous with the expectation of a free lunch. Truth be told there is no such thing as a free lunch. In reality individuals or society cannot get 'something for nothing'. Even if something appears to be free, there is always a cost. If students receive free education, the financial impact to universities will be crippling inasmuch as government is unable to step into the breach, due to squandering of taxpayer monies, underscored by maladministration and corruption. The end result for students: a less than half-baked education that is of little use. There is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is no such thing as a free education. If free tertiary education is not a solution to the problem, what then? The answer is one of back to basics: jettison the present basic educational system for primary and secondary schools, and replace it by leveraging the creativity of the private sector to reinvent and modernize the system. To date, the Department of Basic Education lacks boldness and flexibility to embrace change. Modernising the educational system requires a fundamental shift in the way we educate our young people. One must accept that the familiar systems of grade levels is anachronistic for today's times. Consider, for example, a system where learners are grouped not by age or grade level, but by their levels of knowledge or skill. In doing so, resources can be allocated appropriately to facilitate real and purposeful transitional change at basic education levels. It will open the door to competency, and facilitate future higher academic and employment opportunities. Imagine matriculation students entering university undergraduate programs with confidence and competence. Yes, imagine . . . Millions of primary and secondary students live in an endless cycle of poverty. Those who do enroll at a university, apart from financial hardship, are unprepared and face immense challenges that lead to feelings of inadequacy, followed by frustration, despair, resentment, and ultimately rage - a recipe for violence and other anti-social behaviour. Incidents of anti-social behaviour under the present education system will continue to escalate unless new approaches at the basic education level are adopted. There are several options, other than outlined above, that include, but are not limited to, Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Lessons, Project Based Learning , Life Skills and Reality Pedagogy. Basic education is at the end of its rope - what is there to lose by adopting a new approach? One thing is clear: young people's inalienable right to quality basic education has been grossly mismanaged. Even the most basic educational tool, textbooks for all students, has necessitated court intervention. Young people were promised a future filled with the expectation of accomplishment - not illiteracy and despair. The promise of a bright future can still be achieved through a new basic education approach, provided those who establish policy leave their self-serving agendas at the door. I, together with other concerned citizens, stand ready, willing and able to walk the walk.