Overview of South Africa
After an election in South Africa in 1948, the National Party won and its all-white government began passing laws enforcing a policy of racial separation under a system of legislation called Apartheid. (Briney, 2010) Under Apartheid, the non-whites suffered from discrimination and racial segregation. These laws remained in effect for 50 years until the 1994 elections which marked the official end of the Apartheid system. (History.com, n.d.) Although improvements have been made in recent years, South Africa still remains racially divided. In the education sector, although policies have been implemented to equalize funding and improve access to education, there are still considerable variations of the quality of education the blacks and the whites receive. In the healthcare sector, many blacks and coloureds are still disadvantaged as they do not receive medical care. The whites also enjoy a better living standard and quality of life in the richer regions of South Africa while most of the black people are living in bad conditions.
After Apartheid ended, South Africa experienced annual economic growth of around 3.4 percent and an overall reduction in poverty. Despite these trends, unemployment rates remain high especially for youths which stand at 51.5% as they do not have the skills for the jobs required. One of South Africa’s biggest physical environment problem is the lack of freshwater supply resulting in the difficulty in meeting water demands. A human environmental problem faced by South Africa is the lack of basic facilities in schools such as water and electricity. Between 12 and 14 million people are without access to safe water and over 20 million without adequate sanitation. (Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry, 1997). The root of most of these issues that the South Africans face is due to the poor quality of education that they receive. Only with a strong education system, people can then help to boost the economy and thus help the country to prosper.
After Apartheid ended, South Africa experienced annual economic growth of around 3.4 percent and an overall reduction in poverty. Despite these trends, unemployment rates remain high especially for youths which stand at 51.5% as they do not have the skills for the jobs required. One of South Africa’s biggest physical environment problem is the lack of freshwater supply resulting in the difficulty in meeting water demands. A human environmental problem faced by South Africa is the lack of basic facilities in schools such as water and electricity. Between 12 and 14 million people are without access to safe water and over 20 million without adequate sanitation. (Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry, 1997). The root of most of these issues that the South Africans face is due to the poor quality of education that they receive. Only with a strong education system, people can then help to boost the economy and thus help the country to prosper.
Image take from : https://www.google.com.sg/maps/place/South+Africa/@-28.4792625,24.6759116,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x1c34a689d9ee1251:0xe85d630c1fa4e8a0