An urban legend is that one comment in a report stated: “Your son has set himself an extremely low standard, which he has failed to achieve.” It says a lot about the standards of our education system that a political party had to table a motion in Parliament to increase the minimum requirements for pupils to pass the matric examinations. This confirms the view that political, and not educational considerations, have a profound impact on the future of our children. There is no doubt that South Africa’s education system is inextricably linked to the policies of the government.
But the questions that need to be asked are: “Are these policies grounded in sound pedagogical ideas and methods for effective teaching and learning? Are parliamentarians, some of whom have dubious education credentials, in an informed position to legislate and implement education and pass requirement regulations? Ideally, education policies should not be determined by politicians, but rather by the people who are best qualified to shape the destiny of pupils.
These stakeholders should include education experts, curriculum designers, examiners, moderators and teachers. The furore that erupted in Parliament around the present minimum requirement of a 30% pass in certain subjects to obtain a National Senior Certificate (NSC) has not only reduced our pupils to mere pawns on a political chessboard, but reflects a complete lack of understanding of the entire examination process and minimum requirements needed to pass Grade 12. The rationale behind the motion, which was rejected, was that a 30% benchmark leads to low expectations among pupils and contributes to their poor performance when compared to their international counterparts.
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This reasoning has its merits, as recent research studies have revealed that pupils in the foundation phase lag far behind in subjects such as mathematics and English. If studies were to be conducted in the other grades, it would not be surprising to discover that these pupils are also not on par.
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