The New Age 25 January 2017

Forty private schools mushroom Government told to look into education LESLEY TSHAMANO

THE mushrooming of private schools in KwaZulu-Natal has raised concerns about the state of public education in the province. Figures from the department show that there had been a 19% increase in the number of private schools there since 2011.In the past five years, 40 new private schools were registered with the department. The biggest increase was recorded between 2011 and 2012, during which 29 new private schools were opened. The number grew from 61 300 pupils in 2011 to 66 877 pupils in 2016. Education expert Elias Mathipa said this was a sign that the public school system is collapsing. “The system of mainstream schools has collapsed.“So parents have to either choose between sending their children to a private school or an independent school,” Mathipa said. “Even the teachers at public schools are sending their children to private schools because public schools are dysfunctional. The middle class is also opting for private schools because they are well run,” he said. But department of education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga disputed this. “We have pupils studying in China, the UK and other countries who have gone through our system,” Mhlanga said. He attributed the growth of private schools to other factors. “The demand (for schools) is high and now people have options to choose where they can send their children. The Constitution allows for it,” he said. Mhlanga also said that the vast majority of pupils in the province continue to attend public schools. Sadtu’s provincial deputy secretary Bheki Shandu warned the department to start investing in the development of its teachers or run the risk of losing more pupils to private schools. “If they do not, there is a danger of public schools collapsing in the next 20

WELL RUN: Figures from the education department show that there has been a 19% increase in the number of private schools in the province since 2011.

years. But public schools are still the lifeline of education in the country and remain relevant,” he said. Most private schools in KZN are combined schools (105), followed by 88 primary schools and 50 secondary schools. Hilton College in the Midlands is the most expensive in the province. The school charges an annual fee of R235 960. The second most expensive private school is Michaelhouse, also in the Midlands, with an annual fee of R225 000.Kearsney College followed in third place with parents having to pay R211 500 a year for their children. All three schools are among the top five most expensive schools in the country, with Hilton College occupying the

number one spot. Prof Ruksana Osman of the University of the Witwatersrand said many of South Africa’s top performing schools were government-funded public entities, with a public school, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Afrikaans High School for Girls), being the top performer in the country’s economic hub of Gauteng. “Ninety-six percent of its matriculants qualified to apply for university study at the end of 2014. This is the highest qualification a school leaver can earn in South Africa. “To send a child to the school for one year costs about R26 000,” Osman wrote in The Conversation. [email protected]

TOP FIVE MOST EXPENSIVE PRIVATE SCHOOLS » Hilton College, KZN Midlands- R235 960 » Michaelhouse, KZN Midlands- R225 000 » Roedean School for Girls, Johannesburg- R220 276 » St Andrews College, Grahamstown- R182 700 » Kearsney College, Botha’s Hill, KZN – R211 500 » The cost of R2 600 per month for 10 months at Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Afrikaans High School for Girls) vs R23 596 per month for 10 months at Hilton College