South Africa has achieved remarkable progress in educational attainment relative to other emerging
countries, but the quality of basic education for a large fraction of the Black African population is still very
low. This study identifies several hurdles to the upgrading of basic education quality, such as the lack of
investment in school infrastructure and learning materials in disadvantaged areas, uneven administrative
capacity at the local level, low teacher quality and poor teaching of English among Black Africans. Bold
action is recommended to empower schools with more physical resources, more competent school
leadership and an accountable teacher workforce. Skill mismatches of supply and demand on the labour
market may be further addressed by vocational education reforms and an alleviation of credit constraints at
the tertiary level.
