Key to Improved Economic Growth in South Africa: Analytical Essay

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The key to reduced inequality and improved economic growth in South Africa does indeed lie in the government focusing all of their resources on improving basic education, which is seen in the way education forms the foundation of what needs to be changed for both these aspects to be achieved.

The key to improved economic growth is to improve the quality of basic education to create a skilled and capable workforce to support the path of growth. Basic education, according to South Africa’s ‘Law, Democracy and Development’ website, connotes the quality of education that the government should provide and not merely the provision of a compulsory number of years that a learner is supposed to attend school According to the National Treasury’s Economic Policy Paper, the country has become “trapped in a stagnant economy,” and opportunities regarding improving the following aspects should be promoted to get the economy moving again: Export earnings and foreign investment, in which investors need to have confidence in the long-term sustainability of South Africa as an investment destination. This requires the government’s focus and resources in education, as a well-educated society and ready-to-work population will attract foreign investors the most. Reducing the shortage of skills, especially those of the technical and managerial sectors, is pivotal to growing South Africa’s stagnant economy, since, according to brandsouthafrica.com, the GDP of South Africa consists mostly of finance, real estate, and business services (at 22%) and wholesale, retail and motor trade, catering, and accommodation (at 15%). This means that focusing resources into education will improve economic growth in South Africa because there will be more people ready to work and take on jobs in these majority sectors. Law and order, mainly included as many business operations are being disrupted by extortion from opportunists and communities, which in turn increases poverty and decreases the number of legitimate work opportunities. This means that focusing on improving education in South Africa, especially that of the laws and rights of businesses with regards to this aspect, can reduce the rampant lawlessness, as well as increase the number of businesses with adequate knowledge on their rights, as well as employees of businesses themselves, so that they are aware that they are not being extorted, which thus leads us to the fact that education is needed to be improved with all of the South African government’s resources for the economy to prosper.

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The purpose of an egalitarian society is to allow an individual to reach their full potential, irrelevant of their gender, race, and sexual orientation. This core principle is provided through education- the main subject being Life Orientation because it teaches equality, self-confidence, and self-identity. If the government focuses its resources into education, this will create equality within South African society based on gender, race, and sexual orientation. Education, however, does not limit its extent to the amount and types of inequality it can reduce. Focusing on the availability, as well as the quality, of education in South Africa can lead to, for example, reduced gender inequality in education itself, but as well as the workplace. When women are educated, this means that they have a better chance of getting a job. When women have jobs, they focus on their careers, rather than starting a family, which in turn allows them to become equal to men, in the aspect that they have the same opportunities to prolong and work on their career, rather than being limited to a household with a family to raise. Focusing on education also reduces inequality within the different races of South Africa, because previously disadvantaged groups, such as Africans, now have the same opportunities that the advantaged had during the apartheid regime. If the South African government focuses all their resources now on giving everybody access to education, they would not need to worry about it in the future, as equal opportunities being laid as a foundation leads to more equal opportunities; those with equal access to the quality and availability of education means that they can support their families if they choose to have them, economically and thus give them the same education that they had, which continues as a cycle.

One may argue that the government needs to create jobs for the economy to grow and inequality to be reduced. This point, however, leads back to education, as the government cannot “create jobs” if the majority of its population is uneducated. The reason why education should be the key focus of the government is that it leads to both improved economic growth and economic equality within South Africa, but as well as makes it appealing to foreign investors, who would be willing to invest in a country rich with well-educated individuals. The creation of jobs would also not re-educate and change the inequality within South Africa, as jobs do not educate anybody on an equal society with regards to gender, race, and sexual orientation, but only economic equality, which in itself could be achieved along with the previously mentioned aspects of equality through education. Thus should education be the prime focus of the government’s resources.

In conclusion, the key to reduced inequality and improved economic growth in South Africa does lie in the government focusing all of their resources on improving basic education, which is seen in many aspects, such as educating South African individuals on their rights, on skills and as well as how educated individuals lead to foreign investments, but as well as how an egalitarian society can be reached through educating its individuals.

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