| Summary: | A number of profound change ccurred in South Africa once the apartheid system
was removed. One of the most noteworthy of these changes was the merging of
nineteen racially defined education departments into one national department and nine
provincial departments. Provinces were divided into regions that were further divided
into districts. The focus of this study is on the role played by the Gauteng district!! in
improving the quality of education after the first democratic elections, period 1994
until 1998. The study starts by underlining the fact that any definition of the concept
quality is problematic. It argues that the concept of quality is elusive and that one’s
definition of quality depends on the context within which the word is used.
Characteristics of quality education rather than a definition are given. The challenges
Tccd by the districts in improving the quality of education and implementing policy
are discussed. This is followed by a discussion of the context within which the
districts functioned and of the strategies they put in place in an attempt to impact
positively on education. This discussion leads to an examination of the role of the
districts in improving the quality of education. The study concludes by arguing that
the districts functioned in a complex situation: some of the district officials were new
in office, there was insufficient human and physical resources, lack of proper coordination
at various levels (national, provincial and district) of education governance,
and the state of transition from apartheid to democracy further complicated the issue.
This study further concludes by arguing that because of the complexity of the
situation within which the district officials functioned, the districts could not play a
meaningful role in improving the quality of education.
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