ISSN 2039-2117 (online) ISSN 2039-9340 (print) Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy Vol 5 No 23 November 2014 1285 Education for All: Are the Doors of Learning Opened for All in the Provision of Quality Education in South Africa? Takalani Samuel Mashau Humbulani Nancy Mutshaeni Lufuno Reginald Kone University of Venda P/Bag x5050 Thohoyandou 0950 takalani.mashau@univen.ac.za & nancy.mutshaeni@univen.ac.za Doi:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1285 Abstract The quest to achieve Education for All (EFA) is fundamentally about assuring that children, youth and adults gain the knowledge and skills they need to better their lives and to play a role in building more peaceful and equitable societies. It is therefore imperative to focus on quality in order to achieve EFA. As many societies strive to universalise basic education, they face the momentous challenge of providing conditions where genuine learning can take place for each and every learner. The six goals adopted at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000, implicitly or explicitly integrate a quality dimension. Goal 6, in particular, commits countries, with the support of their EFA partners, to improve all aspects of the quality of education. The benefits of early childhood, literacy and life-skills programmes largely depend on the quality of their contents and of their teachers. The conceptual paper aims at analysing whether South Africa will meet the goals of Education for All in 2015 which are part of Millennium Development Goals (MGD).The question to be asked is: “Is South Africa going to meet goals of Education for All in the provision of quality education?” Keywords: Education for All; quality education; early childhood education; compulsory education. 1. Inroduction The six goals adopted at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000, implicitly or explicitly integrate a quality dimension. Goal 6, in particular, commits countries, with the support of their EFA partners, to improve all aspects of the quality of education. The benefits of early childhood, literacy and life-skills programmes largely depend on the quality of their contents and of their teachers. Reducing gender disparities in education relies strongly on strategies that address inequalities in the classroom and in society. Primary and secondary education – the central planks of most education systems–are expected to ensure that all pupils acquire the knowledge, skills and values necessary for the exercise of responsible citizenship (UNESCO, 2004). 2. International Declarations Bray (2002:31) indicates that, during the first four decades after Second World War, the dominant feature of international pronouncements concerning education was that public education should be free of charge, especially at the basic education level. In this section international declarations which contribute towards the provision of basic education will be discussed. According to Bray (2002 p. 31) Article 26 of the 1948 United Nation Declaration of Human Rights states that: • Everyone has the right to education. • Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Bray (2002 p. 31) points out that, later, the 1959 Declaration on the Rights of the Child stated that: • The child is entitled to receive education, which shall be free and compulsory at least in the early stages. Also, Article 13 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economics, Social and Cultural Rights declared that: • Primary education shall be compulsory and free to all. • Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular by the