| By Gavin Chait,
on 10 January 2007
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 The state denies the poorest an education True to form, Gauteng education MEC Angie Motshekga has dropped her threat to close dysfunctional schools. “We will be able to turn them around,” Motshekga said yesterday of the 103 Gauteng schools with matric pass rates of less than 50%. I have mentioned on numerous ... previous ... occasions that education is not only in dire straights, but also that the state seems woefully unprepared to introduce creative new mechanisms to improve standards. The matric results indicated a number of ((school))s who failed to pass any graduates at all. The current system results in perverse incentives where the worst schools get extra cash to assist them out of their difficulties. This results in the ((moral hazard)) situation where ((teachers)) get paid MORE when they do a worse job. The ((unions)) encourage this situation. The incentive that results is that bad schools get worse and good teachers become demoralised. These good teachers either move to private schools where they are incentivised to do well, or they perform at the same mediocre level as other teachers, or they emigrate. The best students congregate at private / independent schools and the overall standard for the poorest students drops. With unions protesting that teachers may not be punished for poor performance and little incentive on the part of school management to improve there is little hope for this "turnaround". And while solutions are being painfully and slowly discussed, the latest crop of students is queuing up for the beginning of the school year. Once again, we make the suggestion: instead of paying for schools, let's pay for education. Schools should not get subsidies. Learners should. Issue education ((vouchers)) directly to learners, rate every school in terms of their performance, issue these ratings to the public and then allow learners to choose their own place of education. If that means that some schools are forced to shut, so be it. They don't deserve to be propped up if all they can do is ruin the futures of those entrusted to their care.
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