"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." ? Aristotle

If this is indeed the case, the fate of South Africa rests with you, the voter, being able to discern which party offers the best education policy. Education is the surest form of poverty eradication, the surest way to fight crime and, undoubtedly, the best investment any government can make.

So, just how much of an investment are the ANC, the DA, the IFP and Cope willing to make?

Funding

The ANC, DA and IFP all advocate some degree of free schooling. The IFP feels that all education should be free up to and including grade 12. The ANC, while working towards free and compulsory education for all children, has set the immediate target of ensuring that at least 60 percent of all schools are no-fee schools.

While the DA supports a fee-free school system, it would apply a formula when allocating money to ensure that schools which consistently produce outstanding results are rewarded. The DA also feels that child support grants should be linked to schooling (which they believe will help reduce the dropout rate). As a government, the DA would also introduce a per-child preschool state subsidy, weighted according to parental income, to ensure that all children get vital preschool education.

The DA's education policy, which is somewhat more comprehensive than those of the other parties, stipulates that in addition to no-fee schools, all schools would have to accept a minimum percentage of students who don't pay fees. The DA also promises to establish a nationwide bursary programme aimed at giving 350 000 academically promising children from low-income families a chance at a better education.

The IFP advocates more affordable tertiary education and the ANC has promised to review and improve the National Students Financial Aid scheme so that students from poor and working-class communities have the opportunity to study further.

While Cope regards addressing the poor state of education in townships as a priority, their policy says nothing about the allocation of funds or free schooling.

Performance goals

ANC

• Eradicate illiteracy by 2014.


• Introduce a sustainable early childhood education system.


• Extend school feeding schemes to all deserving high schools.

DA

• Extend the school feeding scheme to matric.


• Restructure the education system so that excellence is valued.


• Allow schools that meet specific performance criteria to manage their own affairs.


• Implement training initiatives where schools underperform.


• Create a dysfunctional schools task team to manage underperforming schools.


• Implement a mentoring programme and set clear targets.


• Ensure that the requirements of special needs learners are met.

IFP

• Diversify the education system to cater to vocational, technical and academic needs.


• Make our education system more competitive in the global market.

Cope

• Revisit the role of parastatals in the development of artisans.


• Address the state of education in township schools.


• Will bring government and communities closer together to address problems.

Teachers

Both the ANC and the DA believe that South Africa needs to increase the number of teachers that it is producing on an annual basis. The ANC has promised to train and employ 15 000 teachers annually and the DA has set itself the target of ensuring that within five years South Africa has access to an additional 30 000 teachers a year.

In order to increase the number of teachers, the ANC and IFP have suggested reopening teacher training colleges where appropriate. The IFP has also suggested that there need to be more bursaries available in targeted subjects such as maths, science and technical subjects.

The DA has proposed working with the universities to establish satellite teacher training campuses in remote areas and to institute full study bursaries for promising candidates who agree to teach in designated under-privileged areas for two years.

In terms of retaining teachers in the profession and the country, the DA has suggested an HIV management programme directed specifically at teachers. The ANC has suggested that the status of teachers needs to be promoted through improved training and remuneration. The IFP has proposed recalling experienced teachers prematurely lost to the profession and Cope has suggested improving the service conditions of educators (including remuneration) to avoid a 'brain drain'.

When it comes to training, all four parties agree that it needs to be improved so that educators become more qualified and more motivated. More specifically, the DA has said that it will ask all teachers to write standardised knowledge assessments in the subjects that they teach to make sure that they are proficient. Pay increases and promotions will be dependent on the results of these tests. Teachers will also be subject to regular individual performance reviews. To make sure that teachers are continuously receiving new training, the DA will implement onsite coaching by specialised literacy and numeracy consultants and internet-based programmes to improve training and provide teachers with online support.

In the classroom

ANC

• Improve the quality of education.


• Focus on improving mathematics, science, technology and language development.


• Increase graduate output in areas of skills shortages.


• Speed up the revival of school sport and make sure it forms part of the curriculum.

DA

• Review the existing curriculum with a view to correcting defects.


• Will allow schools to opt out of the national curriculum if their alternative meets certain criteria.


• Will make curriculum content available online.


• Will conduct systematic learner assessments at grades 3, 6, 9 and 12 to identify problems.


• Sets itself the target of ensuring access to information and communication technology in every school.


• All pupils will have internet access and an email address within five years.


• Will subsidise telecommunications costs to make the internet more accessible for poor schools.


• Will help teachers maintain control in the classroom with a range of measures including support for the right to expel disruptive learners, a demerits points system and a diversion programme for youth at risk.

IFP

• Allow provinces to formulate their own educational policies.


• Prioritise teaching of maths and science at primary school level.


• Return discipline, of both teachers and learners, to schools.


• Revisit laws that allow for or encourage anti-social behaviour.


• Bring back a culture of accountability at educator and management levels and empower school governing bodies.

Cope

• Review Outcomes Based Education


• Improve relations between policy makers and teachers.


• Teach children communication skills, help them understand governance issues and consumption patterns.


• Tackle drugs, violence and absenteeism together with communities.

Who would you trust with your child's education? Share your thoughts below?