South Africa: Growing Role for Affordable Private Schools

Parents are increasingly abandoning South Africa's public school system and paying for their children to attend private schools, according to a Johannesburg think-tank's research. There is widespread acknowledgment that South Africa's public school system is in crisis and a JET Education Services analysis of 2006 matric exam results showed that almost 80% of schools, about 23000 schools, were 'essentially dysfunctional' at a time the matric pass rate was 66,5%. It has since dropped to 60,7%.

SA has seen growth in the high-end private school sector, but yesterday the Centre for Development and Enterprise's research indicated massive growth among private schools that charge an average of R6500 (US$895) a year.