Prof Saville is the only African professor nominated for the Economist Intelligence Unit’s business professor of the year award 2012.
According to the professor, South Africa has world-class business and educational institutions, but we need to give more attention to education to ensure the country achieved higher competitiveness.
Basic education challenges which includes those now faced as a result of the annual national assessments, showed the national average grade 9 score for mathematics was 13%.
"The single biggest balance sheet item in any country is the children. Those children will go on to become leaders, executives and policy makers. If they are left behind their chances of passing on a competitive legacy is eroded," Prof Saville said.
Non-governmental organisation, Equal Education says with about R12 billion, South Africa could put a library in every school. According to a study conducted by the Department of Basic Education released last year, of the 24 000 schools in South Africa, 93% of them do not have a functional library.
Equal Education deputy general secretary Doron Isaacs said the education system had divisions that saw 20% of scholars receiving excellent education and 80% receiving poor education.
"These kinds of conditions are not conducive to learning. When it comes to the children of the poor they don’t have conducive conditions for quality education. There are few organisations stretched for resources and many more people need to get involved in order to build the capacity for education our country needs," Mr Isaacs said.
