The Education Industry in South Africa 2024

Access to education has improved significantly in South Africa since 1994, but many people continue to face barriers to education, and 147,807 children did not attend school in 2022. Despite high levels of government expenditure, the public education system continues to produce poor outcomes. Demand for private education continues to grow, with enrolments doubling over the past decade. Notable developments include the deregistration of some Educor colleges, and the appointment of new ministers in basic and higher education.

Opportunities

• Developing or providing accommodation for tertiary students.
• Edtech, notably coding, robotics and AI, is a high growth subsector.
• Online learning programmes, including online short courses and continuous professional development courses.
• Private education, including in the rest of Africa.
• Providing early childhood development programmes and support services.
• The rapidly growing English language teaching subsector.

Challenges

• A high skills mismatch.
• AI presents significant risks, notably as regards academic integrity, data privacy, bias and the potential displacement or replacement of educators with AI tutors.
• Corruption, maladministration and mismanagement. In tertiary institutions, failure rates are high and the completion rate low.
• Inadequate capacity at tertiary institutions.
• The quality of education provided by most public schools is inadequate.
• Learning outcomes continue to be undermined by the shortage of adequately qualified teachers, mismanagement and poor school infrastructure.
• The relatively limited availability of early childhood learning programmes in rural areas and poor communities.
• There is a shortage of schools for learners with special needs.

Trends

Continued demand for private education with enrolment growth outpacing public institutions. Edtech is a high growth subsector with coding and robotics increasingly being incorporated into the curriculum. Greater focus on early childhood development is driving demand for pre-school teachers, particularly in underserved communities and rural areas. Strong demand for online learning and hybrid learning. The use of AI in education is rapidly gaining momentum.

Outlook

With new ministers at the helm, the education system is under review. Improving learning outcomes will require getting the basics right, interventions, collaboration and public-private partnerships. A growing focus on technical and vocational skills is expected to lead to greater investment in the technical and vocational training subsector. With public education facing systemic challenges, private education is expected to grow.

The short- to medium-term focus will be on enrolments rather than building new private schools and colleges. There is potential for acquisitions in edtech and higher education institutions. Continued demand for online learning is expected to persist. Extensive staff training will be critical to ensure that AI is properly implemented.