Apartheid Inequalities Linger in South Africa Schools : NPR: Morning Edition, June 12, 2008 � Public education is critical to the success of South Africa's young democracy. The country's school system, however, seems to be getting a failing grade.
A visit to a rural primary school in Orkney, a gold-mining town southwest of Johannesburg, says much about why the system is in trouble.
On a recent day, some 1,600 students were enjoying a rich stew of beans and rice. But because of budgetary constraints, Reahola Primary School is able to feed its students only four days a week, says Principal Nachemane Majola.
'The fifth day they stay without food, and that makes them also not want to come to school, because what drives them to come to school is when they eat,' he says, 'because there is nothing at home.'
Little Improvement Seen
Most of the families in the area are black and poor. The government is trying to make improvements at the school, according to Majola, but the budget allocations are still too small. There is not enough money to renovate the 25-year-old building and its collapsing ceilings. Many of the school's students are HIV-positive orphans who are suffering from illness and hunger. The lack of funding hobbles the ability to meet these students' needs.
