Contents

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 2
2. POVERTY AS A CHALLENGE IN SOUTH AFRICA ............................................ 2
3. EDUCATION CAN CHANGE PEOPLE LIVES .................................................... 4
3.1 Pros of Change ............................................................................................. 5
4. HOW COULD EDUCATION IMPROVE THE ECONOMY? ................................. 6
4.1 Could improvement be progressive or regressive? ....................................... 7
5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 9


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1. INTRODUCTION

Education- could this be the missing puzzle piece for prosperity in South Africa?
The more advanced life turns out to be, the more education is required for everyone.
Education is something divine and linked to survival, poor education still remains the
root to most of South Africas problems such as unemployment, poverty and
disproportion. These problems lead to affecting the lives of the citizens, leaving them
with no income and dependant on the governments grants and service delivery
which leads to the economy not being able to progress. If poverty was eliminated
and education became the tool used in order to change peoples lives, what would
be the outcome?
This essay will argue that education can be utilised to make a difference in the lives
of the South Africans while progressing the economy and wealth of the people
through the elimination of poverty. This argument will be supported by firstly, defining
education, providing the different levels of education. Secondly, the various ways
and how education can change peoples lives will be discussed, this will be
supported by quoting various sources that support my opinion, the various ways will
be discussed and explained in detail. Thirdly, the negatives and positives change will
be evaluated and analysed, fourthly, the impact of an educated society on the
economy will be assessed. Lastly, the essay will show how improvement of the
economy can be both progressive and regressive and will include the outcomes of
an educated society and show how it links to poverty.

2. POVERTY AS A CHALLENGE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Poverty has been a big challenge that South Africa has been facing over the past
few years. More than half of the South African citizens still live in poverty and face
challenges such as the living conditions they have as well as the access to the
services around them. Poverty can affect the individuals and their homes in ways
that are often degrading and can lead to dangerous ways of life. Illiteracy and
Income are both causes for poverty. In todays society education is needed in order
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to succeed, therefore people have had to learn to read and write and be orderly, this
has given them the opportunity to share and innovate and get the best in life.
So, due to the lack of education, the illiterate have become limited. Statistics have
shown that, those individuals with slight or no education presented meaningfully
higher levels of poverty. Furthermore, more than three-quarters (78, 5%) of adults
with no formal schooling were poor in 2006, as were seven out of every ten (70, 5%)
adults with some primary school education. (Statistics South Africa, 2014, p. 30).The
statistics have shown how peoples lives are affected due to lack or little education,
which supports the argument that education is indeed the tool that can change the
lives of the South Africans.
In addition, Armstrong, Lekezwa and Siebrits (2009) confirmed that, individuals with
low levels of educational completion were much more likely to be poor than well-
educated ones. Regarding their statistics, poverty affected 66.3% of those who had
no education and 59.9% of those who had not finished primary schooling. By
contrast, poverty was uncommon amongst those who had attained a post-matric
certificate or diploma/degree. The poverty rates in those groups were 4.6% and
1.2%, respectively.
Without education, it is a struggle for the individuals with a poor wage to simply
survive. The evidence is proof on how important education is and the impact it has
on individuals lives. Nelson Mandela once said, Education is the most powerful
weapon which you can use to change the world. More importantly, this supports the
idea that education is indeed the approach to change the lives of people as
education leads to knowledge and knowledge is power, education is a utensil for
progress out of everything, education and knowledge are the things that can
transform the world and make a difference. As a result, with education as a weapon,
one can face and overcome any challenge, change their way of life and
simultaneously improve the economy.




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3. EDUCATION CAN CHANGE PEOPLE LIVES

Education is a learning tool. Learning, acquiring knowledge, empower yourself.
Develop skills, doing something in order to equip ourselves. There are different
levels of education which are primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary is the initiation
phase which includes and ends in grade 7. Secondary is the FET phase where it
begins from grade 8 and ends in grade 12 where individuals receive the senior
certificate and tertiary is further education where individuals go further studies to
equip themselves for the working world.
In addition, education is a factor which can play a role in changing peoples lives.
Seeing that poverty is the key issue to why peoples lives are not stable and why
there is suffering, and causes of poverty come back to uneducated people. If people
are educated, they will be able to work and earn an income which will play a role in
improving the standard of living, which will acquire their basic needs and change the
their living conditions . Also, if people are educated, they can change their conditions
and the way of life as education is a tool that empowers individuals. Education is a
key that opens many doors and opportunities that can change ones lives. To
illustrate, if an individual is educated, they can help their family come out of poverty
and the standard of living that the family has, which will transform positively in his
environment and change lives, it can also be a motivation to those around him and
hence change their lives as well. Hence education can change peoples lives, as it
opens doors and is powerful enough to take people out of situations.
In other words, education provides the opportunity for individuals to uplift their
communities, which then results in the improvement in the standard of living, which
will make progress into transforming lives. This is asserted by Smith (2005. p.34)
who states that education is the second key when it comes to escaping poverty
traps as basic education builds the foundations for self-reliance. Furthermore, he
states that in todays modernizing world, almost anything individuals may do to
improve their lives is blocked by illiteracy. In brief, this supports the dispute that
states that education can be utilised to make a difference in the lives of the South
Africans and improve the economy.

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3.1 Pros of Change

Having educated people and changing the lives of people has its positive aspects.
The change can transform the standards of living of individuals. With the change of
lives and educated people, we have a stronger society, which is healthier and
contributes towards the economy.it will also achieve the basic needs of people and
ensure that the society grows into an independent society, reduce poverty and uplift
the communities, education will bring the economy into a better standing. Individuals
are exposed to a better quality of life and bigger opportunities that can be life
changing. Education is a way to get people out of the streets, gangsterism is
reduced, educated can change peoples lives that are going astray. For example,
has the power to change the mind-set of a drug dealer and make flourish ideas of
becoming someone that makes an honest living. In this way, crime and death rates
will be reduced and at the same time poverty will be alleviated.
In 2011, Abrisham Aref discovered that education may increase the chance of
success in each of these endeavours and, in so doing, expand household income
sources to reduce risk and improve economic security (p.498). This statement
supports the argument that education can indeed come to change the lives of
individuals in a positive manner, showing that if more people are exposed to
education, it will uplift their standard of living and improve their ways of life which will
go on to slowly take them out of poverty.
Palmer, Wedgwood, Hayman, King and Thin (2007, p.13) also added that an
individual gains abilities and knowledge that permits them to improve their standard
of living through employment, higher wages and the prevention of unhealthy
practices. This supports the idea that education can be the key to the vehicle that
drives individuals out of poverty and improves their standards of living through
obtaining employment opportunities and becoming self-reliant and able to improve
their lives. Thus, the abilities and knowledge individuals gain from education, will
provide a better life for the South African citizens and eventually improve the
economy.


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4. HOW COULD EDUCATION IMPROVE THE ECONOMY?

Education can improve the economy in various ways. Having an educated society,
will eliminate the expenses of distributing grants and having to help individuals get
basic needs and overcome poverty. With an educated society it means that we will
have a stronger independent society, so the money the government spends on
people will now go on improving infrastructure and other aspects that will improve
the economy. Also, more people will be working which means that more people will
be paying taxes. The government can also have the opportunity to compete
internationally which can attract foreign investment and improve the economy. As a
result education can improve the economy.
If more people are educated and employed, the more buying power they gain which
will also increase the demand of goods and services which will all positively impact
the economy. New businesses can be established which will add to the development
and improvement of the country.
Palmer et al. explained that a more educated workforce is more productive. Also, the
revenue at a national level will be raised, enabling the government to raise more
through taxation and hence provide better services. Furthermore, it is stated that
education can also increase national capacity in terms of service providers such as
doctors and developmental expertise such as researchers. (p.14)
Sapa-AFP (2012) stated that South Africa is frequently compared to Brazil, which
also has a vast income gap, it was added that the richest 10% of South Africans
account for 58% of the state's revenue, while the bottom 10% accounts for 0.5% and
explained that the bottom half earns less than eight percent of the nation's income.
Furthermore it was indicated that the country will struggle to grow the economy until
its riches are spread more evenly. So, this statement supports the argument that
education can improve the economy of the country as more citizens will have an
income and contribute to the states revenue. As a result of an educated society, the
states economy will continue to improve and grow.


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4.1 Could improvement be progressive or regressive?

Improving the economy can either be progressive or regressive depending on how it
handled. With the improvement of the economy, it can rise other issues such as
corruption and mishandling of the economys assets and riches which cannot be
progressive and cause that it is regressive.
4.2.1 Progressive
If an individual is honest, ethical and professional and uses the improvement to
progress the country and even continue improving its economy through the correct
handling and use of the countrys economy it can be progressive. Not to mention,
South Africa is known as Africas wealthiest major economy, with an inclining
employment rate linked with a better educated workforce, and higher investments
levels the South African economy can progress and improve its ranking in the World
Bank as time goes. For example, today, millions of South Africans have
employments and are able to access basic services such as water, sanitation and
social grants are reaching more than 15 million people in need of assistance. South
Africa is now ranked by the World Bank as an upper middle-income country
(Standard Bank- BizConnect, 2014). What if more people were educated and could
rely on themselves for survival? The economy of the country would progress much
more and be recognised worldwide. In brief, the improvement of the South African
economy does have the potential to be progressive if managed and handled well.

4.2.2 Regressive
On the contrary, if the economy is being handled by deceitful and unethical
individuals within the South African nation the improvement of economy can easily
relapse. For example if the members of the executive cabinet are corrupt and
greedy. There will be no progress within the country and as a result the economy will
regress and not succeed. In addition, other contributors such as mining can also be
a factor to whether the country is backsliding. To illustrate, Mbele asserted that the
strikes on South African mines have damaged output and that the inability to resolve
the crisis has reflected poorly on the country. Furthermore, South Africa has been hit
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by numerous corruption scandals in the past years. The most pointed issue today is
the Nkandla scandal, where President Zuma is alleged of spending some $23m of
taxpayers' money to modernise a luxury residence in the countryside. Altogether, all
these factors are all reasons to why the economy may not move forwards and
progress in South Africa.
The result of whether it is regressive or progressive depends on the individuals in
charge. For that reason, whether the improvement of the economy is progressive or
regressive, all depends on the individuals we entrust to lead and take our economy
into the right direction so we cannot be definite of the outcome the improvement of
the economy will have. Hence, improving the economy could have an impact that is
either progressive or regressive for the people in South Africa.















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5. CONCLUSION

This essay argued that education is a tool that can be utilised to make a difference in
the lives of South Africans, improve the economy and wealth of people which then
helps in reduction of poverty. This argument was supported by firstly providing the
definition of education, the different levels of education and the forms of education.
Secondly, discussing the various ways on how education can change peoples lives,
this was supported by similar and various sources which provided the same opinion
which were then explained in detail. Thirdly, the evaluation and analysing of the pros
and cons to change. Fourthly, the essay looked at the impact that on educated
society would have on the economy. Lastly, the essay showed how the improvement
of the economy and all the above factors could be both progressive and regressive,
the outcomes of an educated society was listed which showed the link all the above
factors has on the reduction of poverty.
This essay further argued that education is the greatest wealth one can gain in life.
Education is the rope that will carry the South African citizens to greatness and
improve their countrys economy as well as change their lives. It is not only an
individual that develops from education but a country as well. In conclusion, if South
Africa as a whole realises that education is the tool that will change their lives and
improve the economy and wealth of its people, the country will flourish and develop
further than it currently is and the citizens will lead different life which is healthier and
self-reliant. Henceforth every citizen must aim to ensure that every individual has an
education and is independent, for the good of all.







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6. Reference List

Aref, A. (2011). Perceived Impact of Education on Poverty Reduction in Rural Areas
of Iran. Life Science Journal, 8(2), 498. Retrieved from
http://www.lifesciencesite.com/lsj/life0802/66_4805life0802_498_501.pdf2W

Armstrong, P., Lekezwa, B., & Siebrits, K. (2009, May 13). Poverty Remains the
priority for SA. NGO Pulse. Retrieved from http://www.ngopulse.org/article/poverty-
remains-priority-sa

Mbele, L. (2014, May 6). South Africa's economic challenges. BBC News. Retrieved
from http://http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27291242

Palmer, R., Wedgwood, R., Hayman, R., King, K & Thin, N. (2007).Educating out of
poverty? : A synthesis report on Ghana, India, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and
South Africa. Edinburgh: Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh.

Sapa-AFP (2012, July 29). Poor South African children unlikely to escape
poverty.SABC News.

Smith, S. C. (2005). Ending global poverty: A guide to what works. New York:
Palgrave Macmillan.

Standard Bank- BizConnect (2014, May 8). How South Africas economy has grown.
Retrieved from http://bizconnect.standardbank.co.za/sector-news/general-
business/how-south-africa%E2%80%99s-economy-has-grown.aspx

Statistics South Africa (2014). Poverty Trends in South Africa (03-10-06). Retrieved
from Statistics South Africa website:
http://beta2.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report-03-10-06/Report-03-10-
06March2014.pdf