Reuters – Tendai Dube
“Packed tightly at a row of graffitied desks in an overcrowded classroom, students at Masiqhakaze Secondary School near Johannesburg shiver as a chilly breeze blows through broken windows. This run-down, tin-shack district is a poor environment for learning but its conditions are similar to those in thousands of state schools across Africa that academics say have left millions with skills suitable only for manual labour. In a 2015 report the World Economic Forum ranked South Africa last in the quality of mathematics and science education and close to last at 139 out of 143 in the overall quality of its education system. However, rising incomes among the continent’s vast population have created a pool of customers willing to pay for better schooling for their children. That in turn is driving an explosion in education businesses that means Africa could soon rival Asian countries like India as the next big hit with school investors.”(more)