if Canada has one of the best education systems in the world, illiteracy is increasing in South Africa

While France has fallen to 23rd place in the PISA rankings, Canadian students are performing very well. In South Africa, the success rate for the equivalent of the BAC is excellent, but it hides increasing illiteracy.

According to the PISA survey, published in December 2023, the Canadian education system is among the five best in the world, thanks to the good results in science, mathematics and reading tests taken by young Canadians aged 15.

In South Africa, 83% of students passed the “MATRIC” exam, the equivalent of the BAC in the country. This is a record and it makes President Cyril Ramaphosa say that the country has made enormous progress since the advent of democracy in 1994.

Quebec at the top of the provinces

It is difficult to talk about the Canadian education system, because in reality, each province has its own operation and its own teacher training. There are still similarities between the ten provinces, notes Stéphane Cyr, professor of mathematics at the University of Quebec in Montreal. “Obviously, the socio-economic level plays a role. There are provinces richer than others, but we have a redistribution of wealth in the education systems which is probably quite significant in all the provinces.”

Quebec is the Canadian province that is doing the best with its education system since it ranks sixth in the world in the PISA test.

“What struck me most was what they call resilience, that is to say the ability of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds to obtain better results than the average OECD countries.”

Stéphane Cyr, mathematics teacher

at franceinfo

“We have, I think, uniformity in the overall quality of our education system at all socio-economic levels”, cadded Stéphane Cyr.

However, to maintain its good level, Canada will have to face a challenge which is also affecting France at the moment, that of the lack of attractiveness towards the profession. Fewer and fewer students are moving towards a career as a teacher. In the long term, this could have consequences on teaching conditions.

In South Africa, misleading results

Despite the accolades, South Africa’s illiteracy rate is worrying, so much so that some describe it as a ticking time bomb. Eight out of ten children struggle to read by the age of 10. “The country is going backwards, it’s a crisis” alarms the online media GroundUp (link in English). The closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly had a negative impact, but the Minister of Education also highlights that the country faces historic problems of poverty, inequality and inadequate infrastructure.

In some parts of the country, schools are indeed less than hospitable, particularly in the rural Eastern Cape province. Anda Dilaza and Sive Mredlane, two young women from the region, point out the lack of investment in education as one of the faults of the ANC, the ruling party. “It is not possible to still have toilets outside a school, explains Anda. If the ANC strips the education system and siphons off money, it will leave people destitute.”

“In some parts of the Eastern Cape, children do not have a proper classroom to attend, sometimes they are taught under a tree, even though it rains, explains Sive Mredlane.

“There are no roads, no bridges and in remote places children have to swim across the river to get to school.”

Eastern Cape resident Sive Mredlane

at franceinfo

In this rural province, 27% of students do not complete their secondary education. The South African journalist also described the education system as the worst failure of the ANC, in power for 30 years.