The Geography of Education: From Race to Class Apartheid?

Abstract

South Africa’s education system has changed from one divided by race to one divided by class. Those with financial and sociocultural capital are accessing quality education and, consequently, realise substantial academic success. Broadly speaking, this class is urbanised, resides in the economically-dominant provinces of Gauteng and the Western Cape, and has become racially mixed. But poor South Africans – who are predominantly (but not entirely) black and who live in rural areas, townships and the poorer provinces – are relegated to schools still suffering from apartheid’s resource neglect. These schools have an inadequate number and standard of toilets, libraries, teaching resources, computer facilities and science laboratories; or in some cases, none at all. They also have high learner to teacher ratios, weak school management and poor academic achievement levels. Despite considerable education policy and legislation changes, as well as significant financial inputs by the state, for the vast majority of these learners, this class apartheid is now so entrenched that neither their legal rights with respect to school choice, nor even their geographical proximity to good schools, grants them access to quality education.