ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the issue of education and the acquisition of skills by the youth through the education system. This chapter discusses the history of the varied and unequal education in the country as a result of the apartheid system and how the disadvantages created by the education system for sections of the youth population spill over into their performance in the economy. It concludes that despite considerable progress in expanding educational access and opportunity at all levels, particularly for black youths, challenges in youth education persist. The inertia of the dysfunction created by apartheid education continues to haunt efforts by the state, as evidenced by young people in South Africa still fighting for their human right to education.
