'Our education system is extremely inefficient'
The South African education system is in need of a serious boost to compete globally.
That's according to basic education director general Muthanzima Mweli.
He is addressing the Gauteng Education Department's three-day lekgotla in Boksburg, under the theme "Enhancing the Quality of Education Provision in Gauteng".
He says the South African education system ranks poorly in efficiency and quality.
All education systems in the world, in terms of their performance, are measured by five key indicators, including access, redress, equity, efficiency and quality.
"Our education system is doing exceptionally well, it is among the best in the world, in the first three, but unfortunately we are doing very badly in efficiency and quality. Our system is extremely inefficient, with a high repetition rate, high failure rate and a high dropout rate. The dropout rate in the world is estimated at 1%, while in the region it is estimated at 5% and in South Africa it is between 14% and 16%."
Meanwhile, he says Maths enrolment remains a challenge in Gauteng schools.
Gauteng has a high Maths pass rate, but few pupils enrol to take Maths as a subject.
Improvement is key if the South African education system wishes to produce global citizens, Mweli believes.