Answer to Question #227473 in English for Mpho

Question

The history of curriculum development in South Africa since 1994. Identify and compare major changes that took place (10)

Answer 1

There have been some commendable changes in the education landscape in South Africa since 1994. After apartheid, South Africa has been able to achieve among the highest enrollment rates in African education. More than 12 million learners attend school, with gross enrollment ratios averaging over 100 percent for primary schooling and over 70 percent for secondary schools. The rate of girls’ participation in schooling is one of the continent’s highest. There were also numerous policy reforms, mainly to ensure access to education by those who were previously excluded. In addition, there has also been an increase in private higher education institutions including a number a number of theological seminaries.

There has also been a significant increase in education expenditures since 1994, with a reconstitution of the national budget away from security concerns and toward social services. Several measures have also been instituted with a view to redistributing funds towards those parts of the system disadvantaged by apartheid, such as weighting provincial and school allocations according to poverty considerations, through special funding programs—such as school nutrition schemes and transport subsidies—to advance access to schooling, and through “exemption legislation” to reduce the direct costs of schooling (such as school fees) for poor parents.

The heart of school reforms since 1994 was the establishment of the comprehensive curriculum project called Curriculum 2005, a progressive model of education based on the principles of outcome-based education. In essence, this curriculum called for a form of learner-centered education which placed the teacher in the role of facilitator.