OUR school education is currently rated as 140th out of 145 countries. A more recent report put the rating slightly lower but, for now, the given rating is simply horrendous.
Within the South African context, the range of school performance is very wide. Leaving aside the private schools, the quality of education offered in state schools is unbelievably different from school to school, from area to area.
What mak es a school really good?
In contrast to ours, there are countries with superb schooling systems from which everyone can learn. Finland’s, for example, ranked among the very top in the world, was in 1970 very ordinary and not regarded as anything exceptional. But the Finnish government decided things had to change and over the next 20 years the ordinary became extraordinary. By 2001 they had the most highly-rated system in the world.
It was not an overnight, flash in the pan achievement but the result of a thoroughly planned, administrated and implemented system. All teachers had to have both a bachelors degree and a masters degree in order to qualify to teach any grade – from Grades 1 to 12 inclusive!
It required five to six or even seven years to qualify. But future teachers were not put off. In fact the number of students applying to do teaching increased to approximately 10 times the available number of university places each year.
The applicants came from the highest performers in Grade 12. So teaching has become a most sought-after profession and Finland today has the most qualified teaching profession in the world!
In an equally smart move, only eight universities in Finland are permitted to train teachers. These were obviously carefully selected and are held accountable. University class sizes are relatively small, none of the 200-plus in a class that we see at certain South African institutions.
Some interesting developments have resulted. All schools are very similar. There are no elite schools and no poor schools. Whether the school is in the Arctic circle or in the capital, Helsinki, pupils can expect the same high quality of schooling, with all teachers equally qualified and committed to both teaching and pupils.
It may come as a surprise but school hours are shorter in Finland, yet the standards are world class.
At age six, pre-primary schooling is available and a lot of pupils take advantage of the early year. Pupils do not start Grade 1 until the age of seven, and the first nine years provide the basic grounding. After nine years pupils have choices to make.
One of the interesting ideas in Finnish schooling is the presence of remedial teachers in schools, available to assist any pupil as soon as problems arise. This means help is close at hand, without the lengthy delays that see pupils falling further and further behind as they wait for assistance.
Clearly schooling really matters in Finland. It is of national importance and is acknowledged as crucial for the future of the country. Every child gets the highest quality of school education. School fees do not exist. Schooling and a midday meal are at the state’s expense.
Equally important is university education. University costs are likewise covered by the state. The status of qualified teachers is similar to that of other highly regarded professions such as doctors and lawyers.
A thorough examination of Finland’s schooling can provide a model for South Africa. No, there is no quick-fix! This requires a long-term plan with very high standards and no compromise whatever. Those who want to be teachers must be totally committed, and when the level of training is raised to a really high standard, teachers must be paid appropriately.
Once school teaching becomes a career that demands top quality, committed students, trained to a high level and paid appropriately, South Africa will have a teaching profession which will put our schooling on par with the best.
Surely that is what is in the best interests of our children and of this nation.
The critical question is whether South Africans are prepared to demand the best route to excellence in education.
Dr Ken Alston is an educationist based in the Eastern Cape
Schooling excellence is possible
Within the South African context, the range of school performance is very wide. Leaving aside the private schools, the quality of education offered in state schools is unbelievably different from school to school, from area to area.
What mak es a school really good?
In contrast to ours, there are countries with superb schooling systems from which everyone can learn. Finland’s, for example, ranked among the very top in the world, was in 1970 very ordinary and not regarded as anything exceptional. But the Finnish government decided things had to change and over the next 20 years the ordinary became extraordinary. By 2001 they had the most highly-rated system in the world.
It was not an overnight, flash in the pan achievement but the result of a thoroughly planned, administrated and implemented system. All teachers had to have both a bachelors degree and a masters degree in order to qualify to teach any grade – from Grades 1 to 12 inclusive!
It required five to six or even seven years to qualify. But future teachers were not put off. In fact the number of students applying to do teaching increased to approximately 10 times the available number of university places each year.
The applicants came from the highest performers in Grade 12. So teaching has become a most sought-after profession and Finland today has the most qualified teaching profession in the world!
In an equally smart move, only eight universities in Finland are permitted to train teachers. These were obviously carefully selected and are held accountable. University class sizes are relatively small, none of the 200-plus in a class that we see at certain South African institutions.
Some interesting developments have resulted. All schools are very similar. There are no elite schools and no poor schools. Whether the school is in the Arctic circle or in the capital, Helsinki, pupils can expect the same high quality of schooling, with all teachers equally qualified and committed to both teaching and pupils.
It may come as a surprise but school hours are shorter in Finland, yet the standards are world class.
At age six, pre-primary schooling is available and a lot of pupils take advantage of the early year. Pupils do not start Grade 1 until the age of seven, and the first nine years provide the basic grounding. After nine years pupils have choices to make.
One of the interesting ideas in Finnish schooling is the presence of remedial teachers in schools, available to assist any pupil as soon as problems arise. This means help is close at hand, without the lengthy delays that see pupils falling further and further behind as they wait for assistance.
Clearly schooling really matters in Finland. It is of national importance and is acknowledged as crucial for the future of the country. Every child gets the highest quality of school education. School fees do not exist. Schooling and a midday meal are at the state’s expense.
Equally important is university education. University costs are likewise covered by the state. The status of qualified teachers is similar to that of other highly regarded professions such as doctors and lawyers.
A thorough examination of Finland’s schooling can provide a model for South Africa. No, there is no quick-fix! This requires a long-term plan with very high standards and no compromise whatever. Those who want to be teachers must be totally committed, and when the level of training is raised to a really high standard, teachers must be paid appropriately.
Once school teaching becomes a career that demands top quality, committed students, trained to a high level and paid appropriately, South Africa will have a teaching profession which will put our schooling on par with the best.
Surely that is what is in the best interests of our children and of this nation.
The critical question is whether South Africans are prepared to demand the best route to excellence in education.
Dr Ken Alston is an educationist based in the Eastern Cape
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