“Part of what we have to deal with is to better understand what is happening in education and these
big numbers of people who pass through the system and then don’t know what to do on the other
side of it once they matriculate,” he said.
“The number of schools is growing, the number of entrants is growing and the number of Bachelor’s
passes is growing in leaps and bounds. It is becoming increasingly difficult for students to get into
universities and colleges.”
According to Mr. Manuel, another major challenge facing South Africa’s education system was the
lack of investment in sport, noting that very few, if any, players in the national cricket and rugby
teams, the Proteas and the Springboks, came from public schools.
“That’s part of the education challenge because, often, that sporting ability will be what lifts children
out of poverty and provides the role models of the future.”
To help tackle the numerous challenges facing education, the Mitchell’s Plain Bursary and Role
Model Trust would be working to convene an education summit similar to the one held 15 years ago
in 2010.
“The Trustees have committed to convening another education summit. Fifteen years later, the
world has moved on and education needs have shifted. The number of potential participants in
education has grown in leaps and bounds, and we need to ready ourselves for the future.
“To this community, we are going to be knocking on your doors and saying ‘help us through this,
help us think about this. A community is a statement of love, it’s a statement about the future, it’s
what we must do together, so we look forward to engaging with you. It’s about that belief that we
can and must, and we owe it to future generations,” said Mr. Manuel.
