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Matric results: The academic perspective - Newsroom - 06-01-2011
Pretoria - While the class of 2010 faced major challenges and disruptions due to the three week long public servants strike and the month-long FIFA World Cup, their results have shown a major improvement, say analysts.
The Class of 2010 recorded a pass rate of 67.8 percent - an increase of 7.2 percent from 2009's 60.6 percent national pass rate.
Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has commended this improvement, calling the class of 2010 “truly distinctiveâ€.
"We've worked hard to ensure the credibility of the exams. Umalusi convened standardisation of exams on 24 December to ensure the quality of results is the same as in other years."
The department's determination to change the status quo of previous results which were in decline, says Motshekga, came from the recognition that education was the driver of national change and played an important role in improving people's lives.
Pass rates for the provinces were also encouraging in 2010, with all registering an improvement from the previous year.
Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg, Professor Sarah Gravett, says while experts expected an improvement, they did not expect to see such a “significant jumpâ€.
“The interventions from the department of education are starting to bear fruit which is good,†she says. “We’re in the third year of this exam and there seems to be a better understanding from teachers. There were also exam papers from two years ago that assisted learners in preparation for their exams last year,†explains Gravett.
She says the matric results don’t only reflect the matric year, but reflect the 12 years of schooling and therefore if the department wants to see enduring change in the education system, there must be a strong focus on the early years of schooling to ensure that a solid foundation is created.
“……and the interventions that have been put in place in the past few years in schools, particularly those schools with weak results, seem to be bearing fruit. One would expect the department to continue with these types of interventions and support.
“It’s a pity that we see only the matric results as an indication of how well our schooling system is doing. That’s not the only indicator. One should look at the marks, yes, but also look at the quality of the learners that come out of the system and how well they cope with the post school demands,†she says.
Chief research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Michael Cosser, said while the World Cup and the strike had an impact on many, the department of education ensured that education was still a priority.
“This has been a long time coming and it is because of the concerted focus on education,†he says. “When the new curriculum was introduced, things were a bit shaky, but things are beginning to stabilise. We will see in the next two years how things progress.â€
Cosser cautions that the chances of this year’s matric pupils getting into the job market were quite poor. In 2006, Cosser found that only 21 percent of those who passed matric were able to enter the job market.
He urged those who were unable to get into higher education institutions to go through further education and training facilities to boost their chances of getting employment.
Professor Zola Vakalisa, from the School of Arts, Education Languages and Communication at the University of South Africa (Unisa), says it is important for the department to monitor schools throughout the year to ensure that marks, even in the foundation phases, improve.
She adds that South Africa has the capacity and facilities to improve its education system compared to other African countries.
“This jump is incredible. But the department still needs to monitor its teachers and ensure that they are at school teaching our children. Parents also need to be given the opportunity to sit through lessons and understand what their children are being taught. There are still challenges that need to be addressed and if they are not, we will be doing our children a disservice, especially those from poor families,†says Vakalisa.
According to Dr Vijay Reddy, head of the research programme on Education and Skills Development at the HSRC, far more detail is still needed to understand and better analyse the results.
“We need to look at the technical report in an effort to understand the reasons for this massive improvement,†she says.
“Between 2002 and 2004, the pass rate stood at 70 and 71 percent and between 2005 and 2009, there was a major decrease. Looking at the whole system, we expected an increase of 1 to 2 percent. We need to look at how this increase of 7.2 percent occurred,†says Reddy.
This significant increase could be attributed to a number of factors, says Reddy, that of a massive improvement in the education system and the fact that education has been made a priority by government and society.
“This was a complete surprise, so the technical report will give us a better understanding of the results and why this big jump occurred,†she explains. - BuaNews