Quality ABET supports SDG 4. SDG 4 is the fourth target of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Refer to THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org) for more reading on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This is addition to how they support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: a “plan of action for people, planet and prosperity”.
SDG 4 aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030. Quality ABET programmes support this goal by equipping adults with the fundamental skills that they need to continue learning. Importantly, they also instil a newfound passion and respect for education among participants. This is so that they want to carry on learning. ABET is also the only means by which adults who have not completed their education are able to acquire fundamental skills. Therefore, without ABET, there would be no hope for a better future for many South Africans.
Moreover, ABET is a means of redress. Many citizens of the country were deliberately deprived one of the most basic human rights, namely access to education, under a past dispensation. ABET is, thus, a tool for transformation. Therefore, investing in ABET contributes to the broad-based black economic empowerment scorecard. However, responsible companies provide ABET to their employees because they know that it is the correct thing to do. An improved scorecard is certainly not the only motivation for investing in ABET, although a very important consideration in business. Policy on Adult Basic Education and Training (www.gov.za) articulates government’s stance and commitment to ABET. This includes the role of the private sector in providing quality adult literacy training and adult numeracy training.
SDG 4 consists of 10 targets. Quality adult literacy training and adult numeracy training directly supports at least three of these targets.
ABET supports Target 4.4
ABET supports Target 4.4. It aims to substantially increase the number of adults who have relevant skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship by 2030.
ABET targets both low skilled employees and unemployed members of poor communities.
Employees who participate in adult literacy training and adult numeracy training are being given a chance to grow and develop their careers. This is by acquiring fundamental skills. Equipped with English literacy and numeracy skills, they can continue learning in the workplace. Without these proficiencies, they are trapped in low skilled jobs that provide very little scope for growth and development. A lack of skills also prevents them from taking on additional responsibilities that pay more so that they can improve their lives. Low skilled jobs also do not provide security.
This is considering that the modern economy is increasingly relying on workers with advanced proficiencies. Over the years, South Africa has undergone a process of de-industrialisation. Low-skilled and semi-skilled employment prospects have, therefore, declined in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and mining. However, our services sector has been growing and is already a sizeable contributor to gross-domestic product. This suggests that South Africa is now a de facto service-orientated economy. Even so, traditional heavy and light industrial sectors are increasingly adopting mechanisation and automation. These digital processes also rely on employees with more advanced skills sets. At the most basic level, they need to be able to read and write and do basic maths.
Notably, the wide earning gap between unskilled workers and employees with advanced proficiencies is also fuelling rising inequality in the country. With its glut of unskilled labour and an acute shortage of skilled workers, South Africa is currently the most unequal country. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099125303072236903/p1649270c02a1f06b0a3ae02e57eadd7a82 provides more reading on the topic.
ABET for the unemployed
ABET programmes for the unemployed equip individuals with the basic skills that they need to secure jobs. This is not only a focus for government, but also for companies as part of their corporate-social investment initiatives. Mining, quarrying and construction companies are setting the benchmark in ABET projects in poor communities. For more reading on skills development in the mining sector, refer to mineral-council-fact-sheet-skills-development-2022.pdf.
Note that ABET remains a mainstay of the skills development offering in the mining industry and local communities from where mines source labour. Remarkably, there has been a steady decline in the number of learners entering mining ABET programmes over the past few years. The Minerals Council South Africa believes that this is due to the improvement in the skills levels of employees in the sector. This also means that literacy in mining communities has improved over the years due to adult literacy training and adult numeracy training programmes. https://www.miningweekly.com/article/outsourcing-abet-yields-favourable-results-for-barberton-mines-2022-10-19/rep_id:3650 provides a sound example of how mines are tackling illiteracy in the country.
ABET aids Target 4.5
ABET aids Target 4.5. Target 4.5 aims to eradicate gender disparities in education. This in addition to ensuring equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable.
ABET has already equipped many women with the skills that they need to function effectively in all aspects of life. Women, especially those residing in the rural areas, will remain a major focus for private and public sector driven ABET programmes moving forward. This is considering high illiteracy among rural women, despite them making up the largest section of the adult population in outlying areas.
It is important to note that gender disparity in education is not a challenge that is unique to South Africa. Refer to https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000234809 by UNESCO’s EFA Global Monitoring Report. It points out that no country in sub-Saharan Africa has achieved gender parity in both primary and secondary education. There are only 92 girls per 100 boys in primary school in the region.
Notably, there has been a narrowing of the gender gap in shares of illiteracy and illiteracy rates in South Africa over the years. This is a positive sign and bears testament to the success of quality adult literacy training and adult numeracy training programmes. Illiteracy rates for females currently stand at 12,5% and males 11,6%. However, there is still much to be done to address gender inequality and illiteracy in education. This can be achieved through targeted adult literacy training and adult numeracy training programmes.
ABET helping to break illiteracy
ABET is also helping to break the back of illiteracy among indigenous South Africans. However, illiteracy among black citizens of the country is still very high. This motivates the need to step up adult literacy training and adult numeracy training programmes. High illiteracy among black South Africans is yet another stubborn legacy of the previous political climate. These challenges have not been dealt with effectively by the democratically elected government of the day. This is evidenced by a crumbling basic education system, characterised by ageing infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms and poor educational outcomes.
Refer to https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr53/1705/2020/en/ for more reading on the state of our education system and how it is fuelling high levels of illiteracy in the country.
ABET provides a second chance
ABET programmes provide many young adults with a second chance to acquire literacy and numeracy skills that they need to lift themselves out of poverty.
Many participants who take part in adult literacy training and adult numeracy training in their later years left school because of poverty. Poverty remains the main reason a sizeable portion of South African citizens cannot access a basic education.
Poor households may struggle to pay for basic education costs, such as uniforms, transport and stationery. Meanwhile, some No-Fees and Fees Exemption Policies exclude learners. Sometimes, caregivers may not know that their children can still attend school, even if they cannot afford the fees. This is especially the case in illiterate households that cannot access credible and relevant information that will help them to improve their lives.
In some instances, poor children may be socially excluded by learners or educators, or other parents. There have been circumstances where schools have deliberately not informed parents about Fees Exemption Policies. They have even punished learners for not paying fees. For example, a common practice is for schools to withhold reports until all outstanding fees have been paid. This is despite this practice being illegal. In other cases, poorer learners have felt conscious of not being able to afford the same things that their counterparts do. It is not uncommon for children to leave school because they are embarrassed that they are unable to afford basics. This includes lunch and shoes, for example.
Financial or other pressures may also lead to children leaving school temporarily or even permanently. For example, children may leave school to tend to a sick family member or younger siblings. Some learners even drop out of school to seek work to help support their families.
ABET supports Target 4.6
Most notably, ABET supports Target 4.6. This target aims to ensure that a substantial portion of adults achieve literacy and numeracy by 2030.
There are currently about 4,4-million South African adults who are illiterate. Over two thirds of these adults are under the age of 60 and a third below the age of 50. They are, therefore, of working age. Yet, they do not have even the most basic skills needed to make a contribution to a modern economy. This motivates the need to significantly expand adult literacy training and adult numeracy training programmes in the country.
Meanwhile, the global literacy rate currently stands at 87%. This is compared to 12% in 1820. Most developed countries have achieved a 99% literacy rate. For more reading on global literacy, refer to https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/reading-writing-global-literacy-rate-changed/.
An ABET specialist
Triple E Training is an ABET specialist. The company’s adult literacy training and adult numeracy training programmes have equipped many employees with the skills that they need to grow and develop inside and outside the workplace. These programmes have also been deployed by companies to break the cycle of illiteracy in poor communities.
Learn more about Triple E Training and our quality adult literacy training and adult numeracy training programmes that are helping South Africa achieve SDG 4. www.eee.co.za
