Abstract
The schools in South Africa have been facing immense challenges for a long period of time especially after independence in 1994. The School Governing Bodies (SGBs) play a major role in the administration and finance functions of the school and its development however, school governing bodies are sometimes used by individuals and organised groups to discriminate against learners in South Africa. It is found that some SGBs are not working properly because they do not have the necessary skills and they are not sure about their roles and responsibilities. This indeed happens in poorer communities, where people have few resources and many cannot read and write. The situation is made worse by the fact that some of the schools do not get enough money, support and training from the government. A strong sentiment amongst teachers was that the core of the problem of ineffectual SGBs was located in bad leadership and management. In light of the above challenges an attempt is made in this article to discuss the definition of the role of the School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in terms of the South African Schools Act. The article also focuses on the findings that were generated through responses to a number of questions around the theme of school governing bodies that were included in the questionnaires administered to principals and teachers. Principals are, in terms of the School Act of 1996, ex officio members of the SGB. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p353
Highlights
The quality education is considered to be a corner stone of economic development and social transformation
Among 12 African countries participating in the Major Lindsey and Africa (MLA) study in 1999, South African Grade 4 learners scored lowest in numeracy and fourth lowest in literacy
This article focuses on the findings that were generated through responses to a number of questions around the theme of school governing bodies that were included in the questionnaires administered to principals and teachers
Summary
The quality education is considered to be a corner stone of economic development and social transformation. Educational quality and its development are regarded as indispensable for the teaching and learning process (Rena 2008). It has become an established fact that South Africa's schools fare poorly in international comparison, even among African countries. Among 12 African countries participating in the Major Lindsey and Africa (MLA) study in 1999, South African Grade 4 learners scored lowest in numeracy and fourth lowest in literacy. The vast majority of children attending disadvantaged schools do not acquire a basic level of mastery in reading, writing and mathematics. The World Economic Forum (2013) recently ranked South Africa second last in the world for math and science education, just ahead of Yemen (Bayat, Louw and Rena, 2014:183)
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