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This editorial examines how the challenges of the South African education system lead to low quality basic education. Secondly, it crystallises the themes in the papers contained in the Journal of African Education (JAE) volume 3, issue 1. JAE offers African researchers and scholars space to disseminate education-related research findings. Part one Employees are important resources to any organisation because they contribute towards the achievement of organisational goals. Similarly, teachers are important in schools because they offer education services that allow the country to participate on an equal footing with other states. Marginalising the teaching fraternity and the schooling system by not providing adequate and quality educational provisions is tantamount to euthanizing the country’s future. The picture of South Africa as painted by Natasha Robinson from Oxford University troubles any responsible citizen and those concerned with the education of the African child. Robinson (2019 2) reflects on the 2015 TIMMS report that shows 50% of Grade 5 learners cannot do basic calculations; and that 79% of Grade 6 mathematics teachers possess mathematics content knowledge below the grade 6 level yet they are expected to teach this subject successfully; and that 10% of employed teachers are absent from school on a daily basis. This is a vexing scenario that generates anxiety for all stakeholders. The crisis in the schooling system is so huge that external bodies such as TIMMS, and local researchers have come to lament this parlous state. In one of the large scale research studies conducted in South Africa, it was found that 75% of dysfunctional public schools have teachers who lack both the content and pedagogical knowledge (Spraul, 2013). Six years into 2020, Lambrianos (2019) still identifies maths teachers who lack pedagogical content knowledge (PCK); who cannot interpret the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), in spite of the recommendation for redress in previous research studies. Research is supposed to address specific problems and make recommendations for the amelioration of such, yet, the Department of Basic Education in South Africa continues to flounder on this aspect. The use of research to inform policy direction is minimal in South Africa. Had it not been the case, the DBE should have addressed the legacies of apartheid in schools by now, 28 years after the institution of the democratic government. The same challenges identified above prevailed long before 1994 when South African Bantu Education was established, and they are still prevalent in the 28 years of democratic South Africa. There were teachers in the education system without matric [Grade12] and others had only trained on two-year teaching courses that was grossly inadequate. Obviously, quality teaching from poorly educated teachers was an illusion. Social transformation, development of good citizenship and adequate entrepreneurial skills as prescribed by the Department of Education, (2016) could not be achieved if teaching personnel lack in PCK and SCK. Since some of them are still in the public schooling system, the systems’ dysfunctionality has been carried over from the past; it continues to haunt the present. The DBE should have established well developed in-service training centres and teacher development programmes, and work in collaboration with higher education on the calibre of teacher required; initiate and participate in curriculum development of teachers. Mouton, Louw and Strydom (2013) identified flaws in the system, poor teachers’ performance; poor support for teachers and low levels of accountability among teachers and principals. And the menacing side of current educational backlog is not going be temporary and short term, but it has devastating effects beyond schooling years (Van der Berg, 2008). Van der Berg has put long term impact in perspective when he argues that “educational backlogs may persist for the productive lifetime of present pupils, and into the next generation through the impact of parent education.” Spraull (2013) further relate to high levels of unemployment to low quality education. In this study it was further found that “poor quality schooling at the primary and secondary level in South Africa severely limit the youth’s capacity to exploit further training opportunities” (Spraull, 2013: 6). It is imperative to support and fund functioning schools. Thaba-Nkadimene (2020: 12) found that “inadequacies in school provisioning influences teacher performance and learner outcomes, causing psychological stress and low morale among teachers as a result of poor working conditions.” Low quality teaching personnel is not the only challenge haunting DBE; it is also experiencing staffing constraints and untenable working conditions (Lekgothoane and Thaba-Nkadimene (2019). Part two I want to present to you seven papers that were accepted for publication with the Journal of African Education by Adonis Abbe Publishers after undergoing a rigorous, single-blind peer review process by experts in the field of education.