NN37, May 2006
Special Theme on Education and Training out of Poverty? A Status Report
BUILDING A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL? THE ROLE OF POST-BASIC EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN SOUTH AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
By Salim Akoojee, HSRC, Pretoria and Simon Mcgrath, Nottingham
It has become axiomatic that there is a strong relationship between basic is one for which there is broad agreement within South Africa. This is particularly so because most South African analysts agree that unemployment is central to poverty and that skills development initiatives are central to job creation. Indeed, education and poverty reduction. However, at the national level this relationship depends crucially on the particular country's development trajectory. We look at the case of South Africa in order to develop an argument that in some circumstances the priority should more properly be placed on the role of post-basic education and training. We suggest that this case is particularly salient as South Africa is crucial to the reduction of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, both as a country where approximately 20 million people are considered to be in poverty and as the most likely engine of pro-poor growth for the rest of the region. The emphasis on post-basic education and training's role in national development the role of PBET in South Africa's national development vision is made clear from an analysis of President Mbeki's incoming State of the Nation Address in May 2004 on winning his second term in office and of the Government's subsequent Programme of Action. We explore the rationale for a focus on PBET as a major tool in poverty reduction in South Africa. To do this, we must first consider the specific pattern of development of South Africa through colonialism, Apartheid and ten years of democracy in order to better understand the nature of poverty, inequality and unemployment. Such an analysis also requires us to make the links between broader issues of underdevelopment and inequity and the evolution of education and training over the last century.