School finance reform for curriculum innovation: An equity prospect

Abstract

The advent of democracy in South Africa triggered notable reforms to the financing of quality education, and curriculum design and innovation. The ulterior motive behind this study was to underscore the correlation between inadequate financial resources and learners’ achievement. School finance reform was found to contribute to learner achievement and was viewed as a building block of every discourse related to equity. In the Eastern Cape (EC) province, the dismal percentage of Grade 12 learners who achieve success in gateway subjects, as reflected in the National Senior Certificate Examination results, was linked to the grossly inequitable distribution of funding and even the defunding of education. The 3 high schools in question were stigmatised as chronic underachievers, having reported a 0% pass rate for 5 successive years. Establishing an intervention programme to finance quality education for schools in poverty-stricken communities was an arduous undertaking. Although the windfall was temporary, it was construed as the dawn of a new age of philanthropy. The project spurred the development of local education finance to motivate South Africa’s Dinaledi (stars).

Keywords: achievement; curriculum; equitable; equity; finance; gateway subjects; innovation; reform; social support theory