Bloch, Posel and Langa Discuss the Importance of Education at the FLF

The subject of education at the centre of the We Don’t Need No Education session at the FLF is definitely one of heavy debate. Deborah Posel of WISER and authors Graeme Bloch and Mandla Langa discussed the state of education with Victor Dlamini.

Langa, Posel and Bloch all seemed to share a similar perspective; that while there are certain promising signs – teachers who teach, an increase in the budget for education and so forth, education in South Africa is in trouble. The massive disparity in results between ex-model C schools and township schools is being carried over into universities where only 30% of students actually complete their degrees.

Graeme Bloch made the pertinent point that we should stop referring to these students as “the Lost Generation”. They are not the ones who are lost – they want to learn, they protest for better schools and libraries. It is we who are lost – we are failing the next generation due to a lack of vision, proper management and accountability.

As such the solution to our educational dilemma seems to be to get focused, to use the budgets wisely, in other words to get the system properly managed. Anyone ideas for how we are going to do that?

For tweets from this session follow @modjaji_bks on Twitter

Book details

• The Lost Colours of the Chameleon by Mandla Langa
  EAN: 9781770100848
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• The Toxic Mix: What’s wrong with South Africa’s schools and how to fix it by Graeme Bloch
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9780624047452
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