Broken schools perpetuate the glaring cycle of racial inequality in South Africa, fueling a labor paradox that disproportionately impacts black South Africans.

In a report by The World Economic Forum, South African math and science education ranked at an embarrassing 143 of 144 countries worldwide and hundreds of thousands of students fail their Grade 12 exit exams every year (Perold et all 2).

The failing system especially hurts millions of black and poor young South Africans. The South African minister of education, Angie Motshekga, admitted that “‘a white learner is six times more likely to get into university than a black learner… (and) 100 times less likely to live in poverty’” (Nkosi). 

It is impossible to consider unemployment in South Africa without mentioning the failing education system, and it is impossible to analyze that system without considering the larger racial inequalities that persist from apartheid-era policies​