Abstract
The education system in South Africa finds itself in a dismal position. Existing research reports and general news bulletins suggest that schools in South Africa suffer from a general lack of efficiency measures and therefore underperform in comparison with those in other countries. This paper proposes a class-ranking technique as a means to evaluate schools. The technique implements Pareto optimality principles and utilises a mathematical model that is based on output variables (e.g. pass rates) only. The model also provides for the construction of a step-by-step improvement plan for underperforming schools. The suggested framework was applied to 54 secondary schools in one of the four major municipal districts in the North West province of South Africa. Results are contrasted with the application of an ordinary DEA model that is based on input and output variables and showed that the suggested approach offers a more reliable alternative to evaluate, monitor and improve the performance of schools ranked as inefficient.
Highlights
South Africa is a multiracial country with a new and young democracy of just over 21 years old
Existing studies rank the educational system in South Africa constantly as almost last when compared to other countries
Efforts to measure the quality of school education in South Africa focus mainly on the comparison of different schools in different countries [6]; this type of study only leads to the conclusion that South African learners receive schooling of inferior quality in comparison with those of poorer countries [32]
Summary
South Africa is a multiracial country with a new and young democracy of just over 21 years old. The quality of mathematics and science education was still rated as last out of the 143 countries These poor statistics seem to be the norm and are confirmed by other similar studies, for example, in a Swiss study on the competitiveness of 61 countries, the “science in schools” in South Africa is ranked 59th and the overall South African educational system 60th [18]. Another alarming statistic is that of the 1.2 million children enrolled in Grade 1 in 2001, less than half (44%) reached Grade 12 [16]. It is not compulsory, the majority of learners attend grades 10 to 12 [14]
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