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School safety remains a significant challenge in South Africa, particularly in remote rural schools where inadequate infrastructure and limited support systems continue to compromise learners’ and educators’ rights to safe and conducive learning environments. This study investigates the impact of physical infrastructure neglect and inadequate safety measures on rural schools through a qualitative desktop review of scholarly literature, policy documents, government reports, and legal frameworks. Data were analyzed thematically to identify key challenges affecting school safety and educational equity. The findings highlight five major concerns: dilapidated school infrastructure, inadequate emergency preparedness, shortages in maintenance and support services, overcrowded and under-resourced classrooms, and limited accessibility for learners with disabilities. These challenges expose learners and educators to physical risks, reduce the quality of teaching and learning, and reinforce inequalities between rural and urban schools. The study further reveals gaps in policy implementation, monitoring, and accountability within the school safety framework. The study concludes that addressing rural school safety requires targeted investment in infrastructure development, regular maintenance, effective emergency preparedness, inclusive school design, and stronger accountability mechanisms. Improving the safety and accessibility of rural schools is essential for advancing educational equity, protecting learner rights, and creating sustainable learning environments in South Africa.

In South Africa, education has been strengthened by granting access to everyone. Yet there are significant differences between the apartheid era and the present. However, during apartheid times the curriculum was different. For example, access was limited, instruction was taught in a language other than English, and political power was all exercised over four distinct groups in the school system during apartheid: Whites, Black people, Indians, and Coloured people. While the current South African education system has been instrumental in enhancing the quality of instruction and learning, technological integration, and government, stakeholder, and non-governmental organization intervention, (NGO). Based on writings published within the context of South Africa, we provide a first critique of the country's educational system. Our main goal is to evaluate the shift in concentration to critique the educational system. This study recommends using quantitative research to investigate the outlook of the South African Education System. The South African Education System is critically outlooked in terms of enhancing in its education system, this is due to the lack of Government and Department of Education (DOE) to take initiative.

In the contemporary, rapidly merging globe, education has become a pivotal force in bridging divides towards togetherness, particularly within the African digital landscape. The concept posits education as the new currency for unification across Africa, highlighting its capacity to significantly reshape the continent's socio-economic landscape in the digital era. It reevaluates the inherited education system, which consistently serves foreign interests, into one ideologically reformed to be more Afrocentric and innovation-oriented. Integrating education with digital transformation enables the youth to become catalysts for change, capable of guiding the continent towards a progressive and inclusive future. The paper advocates for educational solidarity, asserting that coordinated efforts and public-private partnerships are essential to address the educational inadequacies in Africa. This article posits that Africa may realise its full potential as a global leader in the 21st century by adopting digital education specifically designed to address its distinct requirements

The liberalization of higher education in Cameroon has significantly reshaped the educational landscape, leading to a proliferation of private institutions. While this expansion aims to meet the high demand for higher education and diversify educational offerings, it has been accompanied by systemic issues that undermine educational quality. This study explores the impact of these issues, including corruption, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient laboratory equipment, lack of qualified lecturers, poor academic programs, and inadequate evaluation of the quality and relevance of these institutions. Motivated by the urgent need to address these challenges and enhance educational outcomes, this study investigates the primary infrastructure and equipment deficiencies in private institutions and examines how these deficiencies impact the quality of education. It also examines the impact of corruption and maladministration, highlighting the challenges posed by the employment of underqualified instructors in student training, which further compromises educational quality and student outcomes. The findings reveal significant deficiencies that severely limit the capacity of private institutions to provide quality education. The study highlights the need for comprehensive reforms, including stricter regulatory oversight, increased investment in infrastructure, and measures to combat corruption. Additionally, addressing the use of unqualified lecturers and improving the evaluation processes of academic programs are crucial steps. Addressing these challenges is essential to ensure that private higher education institutions can effectively complement public universities and contribute to national development. The findings and recommendations of this study aim to inform policy changes and educational reforms, providing a pathway to improving the quality of higher education in Cameroon. By implementing these reforms, Cameroon can create a more robust and equitable higher education system that meets the needs of its growing student population and supports the country's broader developmental goals.

This article analyses factors that inhibit the quality of learning and teaching in one of the provinces of South Africa. The interpretive approach was used together with face-to-face interviews to collect data from five secondary schools. Two participants were interviewed in each school in the OR Tambo Coastal District in the Eastern Cape. Findings revealed that owing to large numbers of learners in the classroom, teachers’ workload is increased. Consequently, it is difficult for teachers to give feedback and provide learners with individual attention. Many under-resourced schools, such as rural schools, still face unacceptably high learner-teacher ratios and large classes in their schools. Teachers had problems in establishing discipline in their classrooms and dealing with the increasing noise level which made it difficult for learners to hear the teacher. It is recommended that School Governing Bodies should hire SGB-paid teachers. The Department of Basic Education should assist the schools with more classrooms. The Department of Education should also provide schools with resources such textbooks, big screens, overhead projectors and microphones in order for teachers to be effective.

The peaceful environment of South African communities witnessed sudden civil unrest that led to the wanton destruction of public and private properties between 9-17 July 2021. The civil unrest which aggravated on daily basis within this period also culminated in massive looting in both KwaZulu-Natal Province and Gauteng Province. During the disturbances, the protestors looted and set many stores and warehouses ablaze. The turmoil was also extended to some schools, with some private and public schools looted and vandalized. Hence, this article aimed to explore the impact of this unrest on schools and to establish how teaching and learning had been affected in these South African institutions. Therefore, in this systematic review, we analysed the impact of political unrest on the education system in South Africa. 139 schools were affected in Kwazulu-Natal, with six schools razed by fire, 30 damaged, and 95 looted. Thus, a total of 139 schools were affected. However, at the time of this article, the degree of damage in 8 other Schools was unknown. It was noted that, of the six schools set ablaze, four were only slightly damaged and two were entirely destroyed. Furniture and other items such as food items the Schools Nutrition Program and offices were destroyed. Doors, windows, and others were also broken. This indicated that learners would be temporarily relocated from the burnt schools to locations where the government provided temporary classrooms for these schools. Conversely, rebuilding the damaged buildings and replacement of stolen school supplies will cost the Department of Basic Education millions of rands.

Although donor funding has helped to boost the education sector, questions have arisen regarding the sustainability of donor-funded schools. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of management skills on the sustainability of donor-funded schools in Kiambaa Constituency, Kiambu County, Kenya. Resource Dependency Theory and Agency Theory guided the study. The study employed the descriptive survey design and targeted the population of 122 stakeholders of the White Cottage Schools and the Bridge International Academies comprising 100 parents, 2 managers, and 20 teachers. The systematic sampling method was used to select a sample of 50 parents and 10 teachers while both managers were included in the study sample making a sample size of 62 respondents. Quantitative data were collected from parents using questionnaires, while qualitative data was obtained from the teachers and managers using interview guides. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test, while qualitative data were analyzed using the thematic content analysis technique. Results showed that more than half of the parents believe that their children’s schools would not operate optimally without donor funds. Results further showed that the sustainability of donor-funded primary schools was significantly associated with managerial skills, including creativity, flexibility, and networking. The study concluded that managerial skills are a significant determinant of donor-funded schools' sustainability. The study recommends that school managers improve their creativity, flexibility, and networking skills.

This study examined the effect of implementing Nine Year Basic Education (9YBE) policy on secondary school internal efficiency. The study followed descriptive design. Data on students’ enrolments and repetitions for consecutive school years, cohort 2014/15 and 2017/18, were collected from all five lower secondary schools in Ngoma and Tumba Sectors using survey questionnaire. Besides, focus group discussions (FGDs) were used to collect views of head-teachers on the study variables. The reconstructed cohort flow analysis technique was used to determine indicators of internal efficiency. Summary statistics are presented in tables. Qualitative data from FGDs were analysed through thematic content analysis with consideration of similarities and differences. The findings revealed (i) a positive change in students' promotion and repetition rates, (ii) students’ survival rate to the last grade increased to 69.39% for the cohort 2017/18 from 50.72% for the cohort 2014/15 and (iii) wastage ratio declined from 1.62 for cohort 2014/15 to 1.33 for cohort 2017/18. Thus, school efficiency rose to 75.19% in 2017/18. Head-teachers attributed the positive change in internal efficiency indicators to the combination of 9YBE interventions including removal of school fees, school feeding, and flexibility in student progression and increasing day secondary school in proximity of home. However, persistent high dropout rates indicated that the implementation of 9YBE policy had not alleviated all disruptive forces against students’ participation rates. It was therefore suggested to relook at policy interventions to address individual students’ challenges at school and household levels and the management of older children in the school system.

It is through education where a foundation for growth, groundwork on which most of our social and economic well-being is developed. This study sought to establish the influence of teaching and learning materials available on the development of pupils in upper primary schools in Karunga Zone, Gilgil Sub County. Teaching and learning materials are devices and aids through which learning and teaching are done in schools. The study was anchored on the Theory of Instruction and adopted the descriptive research design. The target population was 587 teachers of primary schools in Karunga zone, Gilgil Sub County from which a sample of 100 teachers were selected using the stratified random sampling method. Data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that teaching and learning materials availability (r= .652, p .000; ?= .751, p .000) has a positive and statistically significant influence on the development of pupils in upper primary. Based on this finding, the study recommends that the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Education Science and Technology should improve the availability of teaching and learning resources in public primary schools in order to promote optimal development of pupils.