As President Cyril Ramaphosa prepares to deliver the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), education is expected to feature prominently, with the government likely to highlight improved matric pass rates, expanded infrastructure, and ongoing investment in schools.
Yet, for many learners across South Africa, experts warn that where a child lives continues to determine the quality of education they receive.
Over three decades into democracy, deep inequalities remain entrenched in the basic education system, reigniting debate about why a learner’s postcode still shapes their schooling experience.
Speaking to VOC News, education expert Professor Sigamoney Naicker said the crisis extends beyond infrastructure deficits.
“At the deepest level, the challenge with regard to under-resourced schooling is the misrecognition of poor learners,” Naicker explained.
He argued that the system has historically failed to correctly diagnose the root of the problem, describing it as a pedagogical crisis rather than merely a resource issue.
“What has transpired over the last few decades is a misrecognition of the problem. The only concern the education system seems to have is ensuring that well-resourced schools have sound bureaucracies that produce very good reports. In under-resourced communities, there hasn’t been a serious examination of the pedagogical demands of those learners,” he said.
Naicker further emphasised the link between education and broader social conditions.
“There is a strong connection between education and society. High crime rates, alcoholism, and other social problems are linked to how inequality is entrenched in the schooling system.”
He added that policy responses often fail to address structural causes.
“The idea of building a wall is a very good example of a misrecognition of the problem. It is about time that schools in under-resourced communities are prioritised. The first step is to rethink and reframe the pedagogy of education. At the moment, education has lost its essence.”
Meanwhile, education activist Vanessa Le Roux argued that inequality is not only geographic but also shaped by discrimination and access barriers.
“It’s not even about the postcode anymore. It’s pure discrimination,” Le Roux said. “When it’s a child of colour, there’s an assumption that the child must go to a township school.”
Le Roux recently presented cases to the Portfolio Committee, raising concerns about disparities in classroom sizes between township schools and former Model C institutions.
“How do you justify 76 children in one class, while a former Model C school limits classes to 38 learners? If it’s a public school, then the same rules must apply to all public schools,” she said.
As the president prepares to outline the government’s education priorities, analysts say the true measure of progress will not lie solely in pass rates or new buildings, but in whether long-standing structural inequalities are meaningfully addressed.
Listen to the full feature below:
VOC News
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