The evaluation of the imp act of the system of norms and standards of funding, on operational activities of selected schools in the rural areas
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Date
2009
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University of Fort Hare
Abstract
The research focuses on the funding of the South African public schools that are based in the rural areas, including those that are referred to as farm schools. Particular attention is given to the process and systems of funding during the apartheid era and in the new dispensation after 1994. The research topic is based on the premise that rural and farm schools respectively were systematically and intentionally deprived of the basic resources under apartheid. The same still continues currently because they still lag behind in the allocation of resources, through funding and infrastructural provision, under the post-apartheid era.
The unequal allocation of funds for black schools under apartheid era caused so much damage and delay in the development of rural schools and placed the burden of financial support on the poor black communities. The backlog that has resulted from unequal distribution of resources impacted negatively on the rural schools and still continues to cause havoc even in the present. The inability of black communities then to support their schools in a meaningful level needs to be understood in the context of the political, economical, social and educational policies and the forces that be that were operating and effective then.
The new dispensation, following the first ever-democratic elections in 1994, witnessed the insurmountable task that lay ahead of repairing the ravages of apartheid in the black educational system. The intensity of the damage could not be undone over a short span of time and it also necessitated the availability of funds that would equal the challenges of repairing. This is displayed by the state and conditions in which the majority of rural schools operate. The majority of schools in the rural and farm areas still show the scars caused by apartheid policies. The new system of funding has not yet transformed these schools to be on the par with white schools that benefited during apartheid and still continue to. However the new system of funding has done much to serve as a launching pad in an attempt to bring about change in the daily pedagogical activities in these schools. The majority of Principals in the study echoed that the government is not doing enough to redress the imbalances of the past. They believe that the first move by government should have been to create equilibrium, by providing funds to rural schools to elevate them to the same level as white schools. They also argue that the allocations of funds look substantial, but practically they are just not enough. They advise that a hefty injection of funds is needed to practically undo the ravages of apartheid, and to realise the objective of completely redressing the past imbalances and traces injustice, and to establish equity in education in all levels. The task of supporting rural and farm schools should not be placed squarely on the shoulders of the government, rural communities should also play an active role in the bid for a turnaround. Rural communities need to be helped to be conscious of their comparative advantages that they can utilise to source in the financial support they need. The reality of poverty and desolation of rural communities seriously limits the developmental possibilities that might be achieved through education. There is so much work that needs to be done to put the rural and farm schools on a better position.