An education expert cautioned against viewing the outcomes as a definitive measure of success. Dr Kathleen Fonseca, head of the department of childhood education at the University of Johannesburg, said that while the Class of 2025 should be congratulated, there is a need to resist the temptation to declare the results either a victory or a crisis too quickly. “The matric results are not an endpoint; they are a diagnostic tool.
They tell us something about what is working, what is fragile, and where collective effort is still required, as highlighted in minister Gwarube’s matric results speech,” she said. They tell us something about what is working, what is fragile, and where collective effort is still required, as highlighted in minister Gwarube’s matric results speech Fonseca added that while pass rates are important, they do not capture the full picture of what learners know, what they can do, or how prepared they are for further study or employment. “What matters just as much is how learners are performing, the kinds of knowledge and skills they have acquired, and how well prepared they are for post-school pathways.
“At universities, it is not uncommon for students who meet formal entry requirements to struggle in their first year, particularly with academic reading, writing and problem-solving,” she said. “This highlights the distinction between obtaining a grade 12 Bachelor’s pass and being adequately prepared for the challenges of higher education.” She further noted that the decline in participation and performance in gateway subjects such as mathematics and accounting points to gaps in critical skill development. “These subjects are built on the pillars of critical thinking, logical reasoning, and problem-solving, without which true understanding cannot be achieved. “They also demand more than rote learning; they require the foundational skills of reasoning and problem-solving to make sense of abstract ideas and apply them in real-life contexts,” she added.
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