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Road to Riches -- Info-graphic

Education: Dismantling Apartheid in South Africa's Schools

In 1976, the Soweto student uprising, led by South African high school students fed up with their country's oppressive education system, turned violent and became a symbol for the movement to end apartheid. Today, South Africa's schools are still struggling to give every citizen an equal opportunity.

1991
No Schooling
Black 24%
Mixed-race 12%
Asian 7%
White 1%

Completed Grade 12
Black 8%
Mixed-race 9%
Asian 24%
White 37%

2001
No Schooling
Black 22.3%
Mixed-race 8.3%
Asian 5.3%
White 1.4%

Completed Grade 12
Black 16.8%
Mixed-race 18.5%
Asian 34.9%
White 40.9%

Source: Statistics South Africa, Census 1991 and 2001

Although statistics from 2001 suggest progress has been made, the disparity between white and black educational achievement remains stark.

During apartheid, South Africa's school system was segregated into four national departments: White, Brown (Mixed-race), Asian, and Black. The Black Education Department was plagued by inadequate funding, under-trained teachers, poor facilities (many schools had no electricity), and a high dropout rate -- facilitated by the lack of a compulsory education law for Africans. Curriculum was also designed based on the assumption of African racial inferiority. Math and science were deliberately neglected in order to produce a dependable source of cheap labor.

Today, South Africa's schools have officially been desegregated, but counteracting the years of apartheid bureaucracy has been easier said than done. Under the new system, the schools in each province have a large degree of autonomy, putting poor regions, where community members are less educated and experienced in governing a functional school system, at a distinct disadvantage. Although the poorest students are exempt from escalating school fees, many who don't qualify for exemption still can't afford the additional costs -- uniforms, materials, field trips -- required to attend the better schools. In smaller towns, according to a BBC report, those black students who do manage to get into the good schools still often find themselves in separate classrooms from their white classmates, because most blacks speak English or indigenous languages and most whites speak Afrikaans. In general, black students are still subject to subtle, if not overt, racism in a school system that is still primarily run by whites.

Even so, the old system has been painstakingly rebuilt with new policy. Since 1994 South Africa has committed the largest single segment of its national budget to education. By 2000, 10,000 classrooms were built or repaired. In 1998, Curriculum 2005, a program aimed at improving teacher training and the content of classes, was launched. New textbooks and other learning materials were provided and standards for training and hiring teachers were reformed. The government's initiatives and commitment to education has brought successes. By 2002, the Matric exam (taken at the end of grade 12) pass rate, as low as 40 percent in the 1990s, increased to 68.9 percent.

Employment: The Challenges of Growth and Transformation

Unemployment in South Africa has risen dramatically over the past decade, and the 2001 census placed South Africa's unemployment rate at 41.6 percent of its total population. Many South Africans see unemployment as the most pressing problem facing their nation today.

Unemployment in South Africa by race

Black 50%
Mixed-race 27%
Asian 17%
White 6%

Sources: Census 2001

Top management positions in South Africa by race

Black 8%
Mixed-race 13%
Asian 4%
White 75%

Source: SA Dept. of Labor 2002

Employment in South Africa dramatically reflects the nation's history of racial bias. While 50 percent of South Africa's blacks are unemployed, the number is only six percent among its white population. Among those that are working, only eight percent of blacks are in top management positions though they make up roughly 60 percent of the South African workforce. Women are also subject to discrimination in the South African workplace, as is evidenced by the fact that they occupy only 12 percent of all top management positions in the country.

South Africa's endorsement of a strong labor community may have contributed to its burgeoning unemployment rate. Union membership has steadily increased in South Africa since the end of apartheid. Powerful unions and the pressure for better wages have encouraged some South African businesses to pursue capital-intensive models of growth rather than relying on South African labor. The scarcity of new jobs combined with South Africa's growing population has helped push South Africa's unemployment rate steadily higher.

Though the South African economy has experienced modest growth in recent years, high inflation and fluctuations in the value of the rand have caused difficulty in some domestic industries and made investing in South African enterprises seem a risky venture to some in the international business community. Nonetheless, the South African economy will need to expand if it is to achieve the annual growth rate of five percent that some analysts feel is necessary to reduce current unemployment levels. The South African economy grew by 3 percent in 2002, a better than expected performance.

Income: The Legacy of Inequality

Despite a new democratic government, a slowly expanding economy, and state-backed efforts to foster economic equality, poverty continues to be a chronic problem for much of South Africa's population.

South Africans earning less than $215 (R1,600) per year by race
Black 81%
Mixed-race 13%
Asian 2%
White 4%

South Africans earning more than $860 (R6,400) per year by race
Black 19%
Mixed-race 7%
Asian 7%
White 67%

Source: Census 2001

At more than $9400 per person, South Africa's adjusted GDP per capita is the highest in all of Africa. But the gap between the nation's rich and poor is wide -- and growing. According to the 2003 World Development Report, South Africa's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality in its population, places South Africa among the most unequal societies in the world.

While South Africa's poverty can be directly linked back to the unjust practices of apartheid and the destruction of rural economies, factors such as strong labor laws, a shrinking job market, and high inflation levels have made it difficult to raise the income levels of many South Africans.

South Africa's patterns of poverty are clearly delineated along racial lines. During the mid-1990s, whites earned 50 percent of South Africa's total income though they accounted for only 11 percent of the population. In 2001, according to the South African Institute of Race Relations, for the first time in history, blacks surpassed whites to earn 52 percent of South Africa's total income. Household incomes, however, show a very different picture: The disparity in wealth between South Africa's white and black populations has actually worsened in recent years. A study completed in May 2003 by development research body id21 shows that while income in black households fell by 19 percent between 1995 and 2000, white household incomes rose by 15 percent.

Poverty in South Africa is also reflected by the great inequalities found in the distribution of its economic resources. According to recent statistics, while 53 percent of South Africa's people live in "third world" conditions, sometimes lacking electricity and running water, only 13 percent of South Africans have achieved "first world" status. Similar to the trend found among its different racial groups, the gap dividing South Africa's rich and poor has also increased. From 1995 to 2000, the poorest 40 percent of South African households saw a 16 percent drop in their share of South Africa's total household income. Meanwhile, the richest 20 percent of South African households retained 65 percent of all household income. The socioeconomic chasm that divides South Africa has also become more pronounced within its black population. While poor black's share of income has decreased, the black elite's income has increased substantially: Among South Africa's wealthiest 20 percent, blacks' share of income rose from 13 percent in 1996 to 23 percent only four years later.

Though broad-based black empowerment strategies such as the Growth, Employment and Redistribution program have begun to bolster black ownership and wages, South Africa still faces many challenges in its fight against poverty. In order to decrease the widespread poverty found among its people, it will be important for the South African government to address issues of land ownership, spur the South African economy to grow and create new jobs, and continue to promote education and training for its historically disadvantaged populations.