Build One South Africa (Bosa) president, Mmusi Maimane, has demanded the scrapping of the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC), slamming it as “Bantu Education Certificate” during his visit at a community hall in Pimville, Soweto, on Tuesday.
GETC was formed by the Department of Basic Education, allowing Grade 9 learners to exit school and enter the working world. The certificate provides alternative options to enter the job market, with skills and recognised certification; and pursue skill-related jobs, instead of the matric and university route.
GETC will be recognised as level one under the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). “Business Tech” reported that the certificate was piloted in 2022 across 270 schools in all provinces, and extended to over 1000 schools last year.
Maimane blamed the ANC for an archaic education system, saying that “Bantu Education Certificate” is encouraging the ideologies of Hendrick Verwoerd, where black people should not be educated, but remain in low-skilled careers.
“Today, the ANC government is in effect determined to mirror this policy through its ‘Bantu Education Certificate’. It limits young, mainly black South Africans to either low-skilled jobs, or unemployment,” said Maimane.
He further added that the ruling party is set on disempowering black youths with the use of GETC, and the “Bantu Education Certificate is a sinister attempt by the ANC government to erase the school drop-out problem by issuing a new certificate at Grade 9. It must be stopped immediately,” Maimane said.
Under the national governance of Bosa, Maimane pledged providing an improved, competitive and quality education system that will equip young people with skills to compete globally, and contribute to the economy and social needs of South Africa.
Maimane stated, Bosa policies will abandon the 30% pass rate: “Learners must excel in their education, especially for maths and science subjects; and extend programmes for under-performing learners to enforce learners to be competitive in the job market and entrepreneurship.
“We face a critical shortage of skills, and our performance human skills development is underwhelming. Going to TVETs without a full grasp of the subject matter will not help young people obtain technical qualifications and skills the economy requires,” Maimane said.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index ranked South Africa as 101/141 on skills of the current workforce, 107/141 on skills of the future workers, and 119/141 on the quality of vocational training.
Bosa will create an independent education ombudsman, conceptualise on strengthening security in schools; prioritise budget for digital learning and infrastructure and establish higher salary for performing teachers.
Among other policies, Bosa will form a school grant worth R15000 annually, based on the current cost to educate a child, to assist parents to fund their children’s education in nearby schools, or reinvest the money for private schooling.
Maimane stressed that the ANC failed to fix a disparaged education system, by addressing poor school infrastructure, textbook shortages, pit toilets and a weak curriculum. Instead, “these (Bosa) interventions, grounded in accountability, transparency and excellence; are crucial steps forward to rescuing our education system. It is only when we create an environment, where every South African child has equitable access to quality education, that we pave the way for a prosperous and thriving nation”.
The Star