Hi all,
Thanks so much for all your comments, they are really helping me to develop the way that I think.
I am working on a blog relating to free (as in: no cost) education. What is your opinion? I would like you to make reference to basic and tertiary education as well as a justification.
Looking forward to hearing from you all
Thanks
Lance
i almost think that in Africa when people have to pay for things they appreciate them more...
ReplyDeletetheres education on TV and in newspapers for free- how many underprivileged communities utilize this?
when people in Africa pay for stuff THEMSELVES they look after it (dont break it) and they use those resources they've purchased to the best of their abilities. lets take tertiary students, many parents make their children pay for subjects they have failed- the need to pass becomes far greater!!!
i must add tho that its this mentality of free everything that ruins it for that lonesome person out of a 1000 that would actually appreciate and utilize free education, my question to you then is it worth going to all that trouble just for that 1 person??? i say it is... provided there are boundaries in place that PROVE that it will be worthwhile making this free education available. have you watched the blindside? it may shed some light on your idea and how one persons willingness to change another persons life can actually work...
Stu
You're going to probably have to think around WHAT education. I mean, is the current education system even a good one? Is it efficient? We could make it free, but if it's not a good one and it's not efficient, are we just going through the motions rather than truly educating?
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling many kids don't appreciate education simply because the education itself isn't that good in terms of its style etc. Is it too Western, perhaps? Is it able to speak into the African context? Rural and urban contexts? Context is one thing I feel may be missing from our educational system. However, it also all boils down to teachers as well.
Lots to think about there!
I think that it is a person with money that will easily say "you'll look after something if you pay for it" I say this, not to put them down but to point out that we don't have to walk 10km to school every morning in broken shoes, rain or shine just to get to school, that can't even be called proper schools. Poor people just simply dont have the means to pay for quality education, i'm sure if families had the means then they would. If they are given free education they will begin to learn the importance of working hard. People need to be helped, people should be helped, what a waste of potential if they are not.
ReplyDeleteAt college we learn to do market research on the different people groups in South Africa to find an efficient way to market products to them. We call these groups LSM's (Living standard measurement) LSM groups 1-3 do not own televisions. LSM groups 4-6 only have SABC channels. These groups are the poor people in our country, and clearly the majority. Hence LSM groups 1-3 dont have access to the so called 'tv education.' I say 'so called' because in my opinion those channels hardly give people anything. So it is not that people in LSM groups 4-6 are not utilising what they already have, it's that what they already have is crap. Which brings us to the level of education in our country. If walking 10 km to school isn't dedication for the slightest bit of education then I don't know what is.
Sure there are those that want to mess around and not take things seriously but you will always have those people. We need to realise that an education is the key to a productive country. when our people are empowered they will have freedom, money and independence, which I believe will begin the proccess of slowing down crime, illiminating poverty and start to change the mindsets of the people and the generations to come. People always ask: 'What can the government do for me?' but wouldn't it be ideal if people asked: ' What can I do for myself?'and actually have the power to implement it.
I am all for free education, as i see the value in having it. It makes intelligent people, a nation that asks questions, challenges others and creates innovative leaders.
Stuart: thanks for the comments, appreciate it. However, do you have any evidence to back up what you are saying or is it just 'gut feel' based on your own experience?
ReplyDeleteRyan: Thanks boet, but I will get onto the quality of the education at a later stage, right now I want to discuss if it should be free or not. How do you feel about that?
ReplyDeleteApril: Very good, well researched and relevant arguments, thank you. 'I' is a pronoun though and should be a capital letter...come on, did my lessons teach you nothing?
ReplyDeleteI guess it is a bit of my opinion although i am questioning my opinion in what i wrote...
ReplyDeletei agree with April that the current education is rubbish!
By the way april i paid for my own varsity education myself.
i also feel all because people walk 10km to school, actually doesnt mean anything to be honest. if they were walking 10km and doing something at school this country would be very different. and granted their working conditions are also horrible. but how many of those kids are forced to go to school and literally do nothing there?
I work in a tertiary institution and for 2 years ive been chased and placed in a dangerous situations (one i was saved by the police) where students DEMANDED free education. kids running around with clubs and destroying things just to get something free. that kind of mentality and approach to things makes me lean towards the fact that they actually wouldn't utilize or care about something as amazing ans free education, Africans (i mean all colour spectrum's, please dont get me wrong) just want things for free. i watched the negotiations for free education- there was no heart and soul in it, it was a simple we want it for free and thats that!!
I believe free education can work but as i said previously it has to have boundaries that will implement its effective use.
ok before i get all carried away here i think it will be important to ask lance what kind of free education are we talking here?
TV, newspaper, classrooms?
how would yours be any different lance? they tried TV and they've tried newspaper.
Haha. You sound like such a teacher Lance. Just don't correct my grammar. I'll punch you in the head.
ReplyDeleteIf anything should be free in this country it should be education.
A nation rises and falls on education. It perpetuates successes and diminishes failures. It provides a framework for finding solutions and for implementing those solutions effectively and efficiently.
As such, it is one of the fundamental building blocks of an emerging nation (or any nation for that matter). The other building blocks, I feel, are morality and good leadership. Others may cite health, economics and security as keys but these issues, and just about any other, can be overcome through a good education base and good moral leadership.
Obviously a free education is worth nothing if it is not of some sort of reasonable standard. Any argument for free education has to take into account the turning point of quality.
Equally so, a free education is worth nothing if there is no national value system based on education. Just making education free for the sake of some philosophy or social theory is not enough. Parents, teachers, business and government need to take a prominent role in constantly re-iterating the importance and value of education. If value and importance are not attached to education, no matter what it costs, it will not make a difference. Children and adults must want to learn and must want to apply their learning for them to learn anything in the first place, and then for that learning to make a difference. Again, this comes down to good leadership.
For once i couldn't agree with you more Dr. Phil
ReplyDeleteI take what your saying and apply it to a first world country. We in south africa are trying something in bits and pieces, a first world country applies free education, but does it 99% properly compared to us. we attempt to implement it but we do it of the same standard as a third world country!
by the way im now doing a spell check and cutting out abbreviations- i dont want lance to discipline me
Lol Lance you didnt teach me English, but if it makes you happy I shall correct my errors.
ReplyDeleteAnd stu, good on you for paying you own varsity fees. I think that by the time the youth are about to enter tertiary education, they should indeed work the many jobs to pay off their fees. I think they will better understand the need for this if their primary and high school education forces then to work hard. So I don't think university should be free but I do think that from early grades to the end of high school should be. After that, if they choose not to then they can't say no one helped them. Your life can be helped by many components but by the end of the day you have to put in your effort.
The biggest issue in South Africa is not so much race or even culture as it is education.
ReplyDeleteHow about we start teaching our very young children from as early as possible and for free, that violence and breaking things down cannot possibly ever be constructive.
How about teaching them from an early age to be free thinkers able to assess the consequences of their actions before following blindly anyone who address them through a microphone, a generation that would not be so easily brainwashed and manipulated by unscrupulous leaders making use of their sheer number...
There is an obvious link between poverty and lack of education.
So by providing free education are we not in the long run helping to contain poverty?
It reminds me of something I read recently : "plant a tree under whose shadow you will not sit"
(something like that...)
let us have vision....
Question:
ReplyDeleteis education a fundamental human right?
Stuart: You have some very good points (but 'I' is a pronoun and should be a capital letter...). However, it makes a huge difference whether a kid is walking 10kms to school or not. If you arrive at school and you are tired and hungry you will not learn well, no matter how excellent the education system is! I agree with you completely that there need to be levels to assess the quality.
ReplyDeletePhil: You talk about placing value on the education system, isn't the thing that people value the most money? If that is the case then free education should not be implemented as there needs to be a (monetary) value placed on it
ReplyDeleteStuart: To your second comment: First World countried do not provide 'Free Education', the people pay for the education with their taxes and they are well aware of it. Also, isn't it better to do things in 'bits and pieces' rather than not at all? Again, you make some good points though
ReplyDeleteChristine: Education is not only a fundamental human right in SA it is a Fundamental human right in the United Nations. However, if people go to school and don;t 'value' it they cause chaos and hinder the learning process for others who do want to learn. so their use of 'freedom of action and speech' hinders on others 'frredom to education'. Where does one person's rights begin and another's ends? If your rights are infringing on other's rights then your rights shoud be stopped or taken away.
ReplyDeleteI think that schooling till the end of matric should be free, but that university should be free. What do you think, Lance?
ReplyDeleteI believe that primary school should be free!
ReplyDeleteat the end of Grade 7,your first 7 years of free education should be evaluated and in my opinion the categories should be the following; school attendance, sports attendance, cultural attendance and the same categories but based on excelling as opposed to just attending.
That would cater for the kids who have a passion to succeed but not the ability as well as for the over achievers, plus it would subsequently remove the kids from the system who are wasting the goverments money!
My beautful wife has just made a very good point,how many of theses children arrive at school having had nothing to eat? It is essential that the government takes that into account if the option of free education is looked into!
Lance..... you are a champ, love your blog!
I hope your brother who isn't the smart one doesn't make a fool of the family with his opinions :)
Please look up the following on youtube:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpIcwctC7nQ
Dale, I don't agree with your idea of schooling to be free until grade 7, because the age of a child in grade 8 is 13/14 years hence they cannot be expected to work to pay their high school fees. They are in fact by law not allowed to work until they are 16 years of age-as I'm sure you know. No child wants to work and jungle school at the same time, what a stress. They should get the basics that high school provides and then work to further their education in colleges and universities. By the time they have left school they will have grown up a bit more than when they were 13 or 14 years old and can start to take responsibility with their lives and their futures. (This is when we can expect that they be responsible)
ReplyDeleteI do agree that providing free education has many aspects that need to be paid for and it will cost the government a huge amount of money, but we will reap the rewards later. What is leadership, if not to better the lives of your people.
Dale i like your idea but lets swop it around...
ReplyDeletethe majority of kids attend primary school and thats paid for... so in light of what april said the working age is 16. instead of the kids having to feel the burden of working to get an education they have free education from gr7. this then almost ensures they will attend primary school but wont drop out when they hit high school. i know someone is gonna say but they need to provide for the family, but after then taking on what lance says about the value of money- if theyve paid for primary school and high school is free then suddenly it has a value to it cos your getting it for free and dont feel the financial burden of school fees, therefore you will try and utilize it as much as possible?
Lance im still interested in HOW you would approach free education?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf every child has received some sort of education until grade 7, it gives them a base to work from. They would be able to speak English, for a start, and they would be engaged with society. a big problem with more remote areas is the fact that too many people can't read, write or speak English. That makes it almost impossible to train them or equip them with other skills that would make allow them to contribute to society in less conventional ways.
ReplyDeleteI was not saying that we should stop paying for education in Grade 7 but that we should have a system in place which judges the kids on their contribution and attendance once they finish Primary school. Depending on how well they perform or how involved they have been, High school would continue to be free or for the kids messing around and not attending, the privilage would no longer be available.
I really believe that it would place value on how you peform and would encourage children to be more involved. As much as things which are given for free are not appreciated as much, having something that was previously free taken away from you could be enough motivation to cherish the chance!
@ Lance. Definitely not. In many countries education retains incredible value irrespective of monetary value. In China education is free but a good education is valued far above most things: even living conditions. Perhaps this is an extreme example because the pressure on students to perform is possibly unreasonable. But a value system can be based on just about anything. In South Africa there is a massive value system based on culture which has no monetary conotation whatsoever. We need to learn to value education in this country irrespective of the monetary value attached to it.
ReplyDeleteDale: from high school onwards I think learners should be assessed concerning their academic as opposed to technical abilities, Lance; is there such an assessment currently that would direct the non academic group to practical schools teaching learners practical life coping skills and a trade, as opposed to math, history and geography etc...?
ReplyDeleteDo you think perhaps what causes learners to be disruptive and non appreciative could be a system of education that is simply not suitable for them if they are not academically minded?Skilss that would include how to operate a bank account , basic household budget, parental skills, home economics etc...
If we present them with practical skills where they could perform, would this not remove the boredom/frustration element that leads to disruptive and destructive behaviour?
I think we all can see that our society does not only need academics and that technical/trade skilled English speaking workforce is just as vital in any country.
Going back to my original question: If in fact education is a fundamental right, surely this goes in favour of free education....
Christine: There is a system in place to identify kids who are more technically-minded after their Grade 9 year. However, as with all things, a system without implementation means nothing and the system is not being implemented and where it is the colleges that kids are put into are of a very poor standard
ReplyDeleteDale and Stuart: Thoughtful and insightful, thanks
ReplyDeletePhil: Thanks bro, I agree with you. Just put it out there
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone, I should have my blog on education out by tomorrow. Another pressing issue on my mind at the moment. Read the new blog and give me your feedback please
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that education (up to high school) is free in the USA. But man, taxes are heavy!!
ReplyDelete