In a presentation by the Deputy Minister of Basic Education to Parliament, Dr Reginah Mhaule reported on 17 February that 55.9% of learners enrolled for matric were girls, while 44.1% were boys — a gap of more than 11%. She found this surprising, since one might have expected the opposite, given that many girls leave school because of teenage pregnancy. She also said that the state does much to support girls, while no attention is being given to boys. There was no further discussion of this matter. It was also not mentioned in the media statement about the meeting.
In the Minister’s presentation to Parliament on 3 March 2026, Siviwe Gwarube stated the following:
“Widening gender inequalities (in favour of girls) in all of the above leads to significant gender inequalities in education outcomes (NSC, university).”
As the Minister noted, the gap at school level leads to an even larger gap at university level. According to a 2024 report by Stellenbosch University, 58.9% of graduates are female and 41.1% are male — a gap of more than 17%.
According to the media, there is no thorough understanding of the causes of the problem. Although the Department of Basic Education’s research agenda for 2024–2029 contains indirect references to the issue, no research is planned to determine the cause of the problem.
Rigid Age Requirements
Richard Reeves’ book Of Boys and Men provides insight into this problem. Reeves writes:
“Boys’ brains develop more slowly, especially during the most critical years of secondary education. When almost one in four boys (23%) is categorized as having a ‘developmental disability,’ it is fair to wonder if it is educational institutions, rather than the boys, that are not functioning properly.”
If boys generally develop at different rates from girls, it would make sense for the school system to be flexible when it comes to the age at which children are expected to be in a particular grade. However, the South African Schools Act is anything but flexible when it comes to the age at which children must attend school. It prescribes in great detail the ages at which children must enter Grade R and Grade 1. It gives the Minister the power to make regulations regarding the age at which children may be admitted to schools, as well as the ages for the different grades. Any deviation from these requirements requires the permission of the Head of Department. The Act even prescribes age requirements for independent schools and gives the Minister the power to prescribe age regulations for independent schools as well.
These rigid age requirements may be one of the factors contributing to some boys being continually compared with girls who have developed earlier.
Absence of Role Models
Staff photographs from public schools show that, in the past, there were many more male teachers. Boys therefore had greater access to male teachers who could serve as role models and who may have had a better understanding of their needs.
Today, however, male teachers are extremely scarce. As a result, many boys go through their school years without male role models, not only in the classroom but also in sports coaching. In a society where divorce is common, many boys also do not have a male role model at home.
Just as male teachers are scarce, male leadership in education is also scarce. Since 2004, all Ministers of Basic Education have been women. Of the national education council that advises the Minister, 80% are women. The education sector has become increasingly female, from the classroom to the policy level, increasing the risk that the unique needs of boys receive less attention.
These issues are also reflected in policy and research discussions. According to a presentation to the Department of Basic Education in 2014, Dr Zuze of the HSRC referred, among other things, to “... issues like reading being perceived as being ‘too girly’ for boys and the selection of reading material that may be more appealing to girls in classrooms.” This implies that it is not only boys’ development that plays a role, but also their interests.
Absence of Support
In her presentation, the Deputy Minister also acknowledged that there are no programmes supporting boys. There are numerous programmes to support girls: special programmes to encourage girls to study in fields traditionally regarded as male, such as engineering and IT; programmes to support girls who become pregnant; and programmes to support girls who are victims of violence.
There are no programmes focused on boys. There are no programmes encouraging boys to study in fields that are traditionally female, such as teaching and medicine. Nor are there programmes to support boys who are victims of violence.
Conclusion
Today, boys have to navigate an education system in which they experience less understanding, fewer role models and less targeted support than previous generations. The Deputy Minister also mentioned that many boys feel like stepchildren and seek refuge in gangs. If this is the case, the growing alienation of boys from the education system should be a matter of much greater concern.
The Minister and Deputy Minister should be commended for their honest acknowledgement of the problem. Unfortunately, the portfolio committee showed no interest in the issue. It was not discussed. It was not mentioned in the media statements.
It is now becoming clear what happens when a highly standardised education system tries to treat children with different developmental profiles in exactly the same way.
South Africa is not unique. Similar gender gaps in favour of girls are also found in the United States, Australia and many OECD countries. The question, therefore, is not simply why South African boys are falling behind, but why modern education systems across the world are increasingly struggling to accommodate boys.
What Now?
The Minister did not mention this gap before 2026. The gap has probably been growing for years. In 2026, however, it became so large that the Minister had to acknowledge it in Parliament. A gap of 11% is large enough for the Minister to mention, but not yet large enough for Parliament and the media to take notice.
Next year, the gap may be even larger. Once this gap becomes too large to ignore, there will be calls for something to be done. This “something” will require a fundamental rethinking of the school system — something for which no education department or trade union has much appetite. The national education council that advises the Minister also consists entirely of people with vested interests in the existing school system. This makes it more difficult to take fundamental alternatives to the current model seriously.
As the established order struggles with the problem, the gap will not remain merely a growing statistic. Over time, it will become visible what happens to a society when a growing proportion of its boys fail to find their place in education, work and community life.