Build One South Africa (BOSA) disagrees with flashy corporate PR stunts that do little to address the real crisis in South Africa’s education system. This week, McDonald’s South Africa – alongside the DA Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube – handed over branded desks in Cape Town to a struggling school in a widely publicised event, an action that highlights the growing trend of corporations using education for cheap marketing instead of meaningful impact.
BOSA Leader Mmusi Maimane MP has called on big businesses to step up and contribute to the long-term solutions needed to fix South Africa’s broken education system rather than investing in superficial, short-term interventions.
The heartbreaking reality is that over 3 million learners in South Africa don’t even have a desk to sit at. In too many schools, children are forced to carry desks from one classroom to another between lessons, disrupting their learning and reinforcing the inequalities in our education system. No child should have to fight for a basic learning space in 2025.
200,000 children have to enter Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres each year, for which there is clearly no budget. The delayed national budget process – and ensuing uncertainty it has created – leaves this in more jeopardy. This is the pressing need on which corporates should focus their attention.
“Our children don’t need desks with a fast-food logo; they need ECD centres which lay the foundation for literacy, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.” said Maimane.
Shamefully, South Africa has one of the worst literacy rates globally, with 81% of children unable to read for meaning by age 10. Worse so, this is by government neglect and not lack of ability.
BOSA challenges all major corporations to stop treating education as a branding exercise and instead direct their Corporate Social Investment (CSI) funds toward real, sustainable change. This includes:
- Partnering with government and communities to build and refurbish schools and ECD centres.
- Funding effective teacher training programmes.
- Providing textbooks.
- Supporting meal programmes to fight malnutrition among learners.
- Investing in digital learning tools to bridge the education gap.
The Department of Basic Education has failed to provide the necessary leadership to ensure that corporate involvement in education is meaningful and transformative.
“The state of education in South Africa is dire, and it’s time for both government and the private sector to stop playing games with our children’s future,”
BOSA remains committed to fighting for quality education for every child and will continue to hold both government and corporations accountable.
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons – BOSA Acting Spokesperson – 072 299 3551