I RECENTLY had the opportunity to attend graduation ceremonies at Wits University.

At these ceremonies one does not only enjoy motivational speeches by guest speakers, but rub shoulders with professors, business leaders, excited parents and political leaders, but most importantly celebrate academic achievement.

One of the speeches I found striking, and which was independently repeated by several speakers to the graduates, was that of a million children starting school every year fewer than 50% will sit for matric examinations, less than 10% will pass matric with an exemption and less than 5% will achieve a university degree.

Have we taken initiatives towards research as to why so many kids are out of school before their completion of matric?

Are we doing things differently to make certain that the number of matriculants who pass with maths and science is improved, especially having partially won the right to host the Square Kilometre Array, which will revolutionise the way technology is growing in the country?

Several challenges stifle plans to obtain ultimate quality education from the large number of learners entering the schooling system, especially in the black community.

They range from social and cultural to economic pressures, with the most discernible being a lack of political will despite policies and a huge budget in place to achieve the objectives.

From the social aspect, many black parents, having been deprived of better and quality education themselves by the apartheid system, do not know what sort of intervention is needed to help their children with their education challenges.

Schools have become secondary places where kids go to idle and-or play to pass time but not formal learning institutions.

The school environment deprives most black children of their cultural identity and practices.

For our schools to improve their output and quality, the country needs the willingness and support of the policies from politicians.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga and MECs from various provinces must be willing to put their political differences aside and focus on developing the country.

That we have children taking lessons in dilapidated mud huts and under trees, used as classrooms 18 years into the democratic dispensation, is inexcusable and indefensible.

The country's future productivity, knowledge production, research and development and human capital are compromised by a lack of proper educational planning by politicians.

It is incomprehensible that Motshekga did not know of the shortage of books in Limpopo six months into the academic year.

One wonders about accountability, responsibility and reporting standards in place.

The situation has deprived these kids of much-needed intellectual developmental nourishment and nurturing.

This leads to two scenarios: will the kids be promoted to the next class or will they remain in the same class without having been given the opportunity to test their knowledge and skills?

The first scenario will result in their being poorly prepared for a higher level and the second will lead to financial loss for parents who invested in their children who have to repeat classes instead.

Ironically these are black kids suffering under a black government - another black on black intellectual war.

Without proper planning and implementation of policies, the country will never become a developmental state in which all citizens will have equal access to resources to address challenges of inequalities.