Every school, public or private, primary or secondary, faces its own challenges. However, no-
fee schools, which are schools that do not expect parents to pay school fees, within the
Eastern Cape, face challenges that well-kept public schools and private schools do not
experience.
The support that the school itself, the teachers and the students receive from the Eastern Cape
Department of Education (DoE) is poor. This has a direct impact on the morale of the
teachers and the quality of education the students receive. Quality education is of great
importance and every student has the right to it. When schools are not providing the quality
of education students deserve, who should the learners turn to? Fortunately, there are
organisations and external programs that offer educational support to students but it is up to
the DoE and teachers to provide sufficient educational support to students in the first place.
Three students from two different no-fee schools within Makhanda have been interviewed
and asked to share their experiences and opinions on the quality of education that they are
receiving. Extra classes seem like a simple part of what every student should have access to
at their schools. When asked if the school that these three students attend offer any extra
educational support such as tutoring or extra classes, all three students replied “no”.
Fortunately two of the three students, both attending Ntsika Secondary School, explained that
they receive good quality teaching from their teachers. The third disagreed, stating, “Some
days we don’t learn at all, especially during the matric exams.” The students at no-fee
schools seem hungry for educational support. They explain how they would like more
lessons, extra classes or tutoring to be available for the subjects that they struggle with.
A teacher’s attitude towards their job also plays a role in the educational support offered. One
of the students explains how she would like her teachers to kindly enquire if the students
understand the work, as intimidation plays a big role in students not asking for or accepting
help.
Many secondary school students feel stress and pressure about their educational future, more
so about university and if or what they would like to study through tertiary education. The
last thing a student needs is the added stress of not feeling prepared for tertiary education
based on the amount and quality of education they received at high school. When asked if
they feel prepared for tertiary education based on the education they are currently receiving in
their secondary schools, all three students replied with an uneasy “no”. They feel that they are
not receiving enough information at their current secondary schools to feel ready for the work
they are expecting to face at universities or colleges.
The hierarchy of an education system does not end with teachers on top, but in fact the
Department of Education overlooking their school. Therefore, the blame cannot be wholly
placed on teachers for the lack of quality education provided to students. Teachers at no-fee
schools have their own, and probably more insightful, opinions on the cause of the poorer
quality of education that no-fee schools may provide. One of these teachers is Mr. Mzimane,
a math literacy teacher who formerly taught at Gadra Matric School in Makhnada, but is now
teaching at Kingswood College.
Mr. Mzimane believes that the cause of students at no-fee schools receiving poorer quality
education is teachers who do not update their teaching methods. Each child is different and
may need to be taught in a different way as well. Also, teaching methods need to be updated
to correlate with the updated curriculums. Mr. Mzimane also states, “Teachers at no-fee
schools are exhausted and that can lead to them not giving their best effort when teaching
students.”
Another teacher from a no-fee school is Mrs. Cairncross, who has taught at St. Theresa’
Primary School, in Gqeberha, for 34 years. She believes that the cause of poorer education is
the lack of resources at no-fee schools. These resources may be textbooks, teaching
equipment or digital and technological resources, all which aid in creating a better
environment for students to learn in. However, these resources, which should be provided by
the DoE, do not end up reaching many no-fee schools, which are in dire need of it.
Mr. Mzimane further states, “The Department of Education could do better at offering
support to no-fee schools. The Department itself needs more passionate and creative people
who can come up with solutions and more ways of offering the support needed.” Mrs.
Cairncross believes that the DoE can offer more support by being readily available and
having people in the offices, willing to sacrifice their time and effort for the schools and
teachers who are trying to offer the best education to their students.
Teachers experience the effects that lack of support from the Department of Education has
on school. These first- hand experiences allow them to have their own ideas on ways to
resolve the issue of students at no-fee schools receiving a poorer quality of education. Mrs.
Cairncross states that each school has its own challenges, “what is good for one school may
not be good for all”, but from her experience at her school, she believes that a solution can be
to develop and implement practical Mathematics and Science programs for the students, and
these programs must be adapted to suit the learners at no-fee schools specifically.
Mr. Mzimane believes that the government, teachers, parents and learners need to have a
holistic view of education, “There also needs to be a formulation of critical partnerships, this
may be between schools and churches, or schools and NGO’s or businesses.” He further
states that these partnerships can assist no-fee schools with funding, training for learners, and
accessibility to facilities and equipment.
These teachers, who have had years of experience at no-fee schools, also see the effects that
poorer quality education has on students. Mr. Mzimane explains how poor quality education
affects the student’s academics, which then affects the student’s morale. He states, “There is
a lot of trauma that comes with failing. It causes students to never realize their potential.”
There are, however, positives that come out of no-fee schools, and from working with the
students who attend such schools. Mrs. Cairncross states, “Because the job is harder and all
the teachers share the same frustrations, and there is a stronger camaraderie among the staff.”
Mr. Mzimane reflects on his experience at Gadra Matric School and states, “When the school
is a comfortable and safe space for the learners, it gives the students a much better attitude
towards learning and their commitment to their education is changed for the better.”
As said before, many students are lucky to be a part of outside organisations that offer
educational support in the form of resources, tutoring and funding. Vulindlela is example of
this, within the town of Makhanda. They offer extra classes to students who need it and they
provide students with SD cards which have study resources on them, such as old exam papers
and videos explaining work. All three students previously mentioned are part of the
Vulindlela program. One of the students states, “I would struggle without the SD cards from
Vulindlela. It helps me receive and understand a lot more study material.”
It is always amazing to see organisations offering this kind of support to students, and
running projects that will fill in the gaps created by the Department of Education. But, we
must not forget whose responsibility it is to make sure each school receives adequate
resources and support to further give their students the best level of education possible.
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