The evolving role of 21st century education NGOs in South Africa : Challenges and opportunities.
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Date
2019-04
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
National Association of Social Change Entities in Education (NASCEE), Johannesburg
Abstract
Throughout South Africa’s political evolution, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have played a vital role in supporting the country’s development, doing so by delivering critical services such as education to the disenfranchised majority, advocating for rights-based governance, policies and laws, and holding the government accountable for its legal and development responsibilities. The role, strategies, and capacities of NGOs, as well as the resources supporting their work, have shifted over time in response to the prevailing political economy. During the apartheid years, NGOs played a strong adversarial and activist role, one in which they were supported by substantial international development funding. In turn, the transition to democracy after 1994 brought about a change in their role and strategies. Democratic participatory structures obviated the need for their adversarial stance, and the period was marked by strategic and funding shifts in which many NGOs took on a delivery role and underwent a decline in their advocacy and strategic capacity. In more recent years, however, there has been yet a further shift in the political landscape as a result of South Africa’s adoption of the National Development Plan (NDP). The NDP charts a new strategic path, not only for NGOs, but for civil society at large, which, along with the business community, is envisaged as working in partnership with the government and bearing shared responsibility for implementing the social compact embedded in the plan. These changes make it necessary to scrutinise the strategic focus of the NGO sector to ensure its optimal alignment with, and capacity to advance, the national development vision. It is against this background that the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) hosted a national education NGO leadership summit in 2016. It brought together NGOs involved in education to reflect on their respective roles in supporting the implementation of the NDP and on their operational preparedness and sustainability for doing so. The summit affirmed that NGOs are essential to advancing the national education vision, reflected on progress in implementing the NDP, and highlighted the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders. There was a shared recognition that NGOs are uniquely placed to make a significant contribution to the achievement of the NDP’s education goals; at the same time, it was also recognised that a number of factors and constraints inhibit the NGO sector’s full development potential, and that these need to be addressed as a matter of priority so that work may begin in earnest. This paper sets out to examine the developmental role the education NGO sector can play in advancing the NDP’s goals, and the risks and challenges that inhibit it. The aim is to contribute to an evidence base of actions that can be taken to make the sector a strong, effective, and sustainable partner in improving the national education system and thereby securing the education outcomes that are needed for laying the foundations for South Africa’s continued social and economic development.
Description
In March 2016, The National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) convened an Education NGO Leadership Summit. This paper was commissioned by the NECT following the summit
and is published by the National Association of Social Change Entities in Education (NSACEE), with thanks to Godwin Khosa of the National Education Collaboration Trust for permission
to do so.
Keywords
Non-governmental organisations, NGOs, National education system, Social development, Economic development, Partnerships
Citation
Volmink, J. & Van der Elst, L. (2019). The evolving role of 21st century education NGOs in South Africa: Challenges and opportunities. Johannesburg: National Association of Social Change Entities in Education (NASCEE).