“The ANC Youth League is tired of the condescending and uncompromising racist attitude that is continuously displayed by Premier Helen Zille,” the ANCYL said in a joint statement released on Wednesday afternoon.
They said the country was jubilant after yesterday’s release of national matric results, but Zille and the Democratic Alliance (DA) doubted markers and black pupils and their ability to get distinctions.
“As the ANC Youth League, we find Helen Zille acting as a hypocrite. She doubts that the black mind can pass matric but believes that she can get a vote from the very same black mind. The DA with its window-dressing black leadership are saying the 2013 matric results cannot be trusted, thus casting doubt on the credibility of all those who have passed,” the statement read.
“We find the DA [to be] anti-progress and retrogressive. They are against BEE and Affirmative Action but want black votes.”
WHAT SHE SAID
On 7 January, after the release of the national matric results Zille called into question the high jump in the pass rate.
“Increases of 7.6 percent (in Mpumalanga) and 7.7 percent (in North West) in one year are near impossible to achieve in one school, let alone across an entire province,” Zille said.
“All successful matriculants will suffer if the credibility of their National Certificates is diminished. Universities and FET Colleges, and most importantly, employers in the job market, will be less willing to accept that applicants are actually qualified if the examination results cannot be trusted.”
Zille called for an audit to ensure the new national pass rate of 78.2 percent is, in fact, accurate.
“Provincial education departments are solely responsible for appointing markers and marking matric exams. Exam papers are not marked by a central national body. This means the quality of marking cannot be guaranteed and is not adequately or comparatively standardised around the country. Matric markers are not tested for their competency, their subject knowledge or for their ability to interpret answers which are phrased differently from the exam memorandum,” she said.
TEACHERS DO PERFORM A SLEIGHT OF THE HAND
Fourways Review spoke to Ronel Tolken, a senior accounting teacher who has been marking matric exams for District 2 of the Gauteng Education Department since 1982.
In 2013, she was not appointed as a marker, but said that previously they tried to uphold standards as far as possible, “But sometimes you end up giving marks some of the pupils did not deserve. You get a feel for each new paper you pick up, and sometimes know that pupil will not pass, and end up scrutinising the paper to find marks.”
Amila Herbst, a 24-year-old English teacher marked exams for the first time in 2013. She said of her experience that they tried to be fair while marking, but it really depended on the group you were marking in.
“Some people did give extra marks, so on some level it might be unfair,” she said.
‘GET RID OF THE RACIST’
The ANCYL said they want South Africans to stop being tricked by DA’s racist leader.
“As young black South Africans, we should embrace non-racialism and work for forever unity of all South Africans, but never be afraid to shout out against racist inclinations,” they stated.
They advised future employers to have faith in the Department of Basic Education. And also called for their supporters in the Western Cape to oust the ‘racist’ party.
“People of the Western Cape should help themselves by voting ANC to take-out of governance structures a white supremacist and racist political leaders of DA.”
WESTERN CAPE THRIVES UNDER DA RULE
Though the latest attack is undoubtedly part of ruffling feathers before elections, the DA has taken to their social platforms to show improvement in basic education of the Western Cape.
One of the biggest feathers in their cap was a tweet sent out on Wednesday afternoon stating: “The Matric pass rate in the 21 schools in Khayelitsha has improved from 53.6% in 2009 to 74.2% in 2013.”
Another read, “All of the 8 education districts in the WC achieved #Matric2013 pass rates above 80%.”
EDUCATION IS SLIPPING
Tanya Jackman, event director of the annual African EduWeek, said “In the wake of the recently published matric results, the quality of education and indeed of teachers is coming under increased scrutiny as critics cite low pass requirements [30%] and simplified exams, not educational progression, as the key determinant in the results.”
“As 78.2% of Matric students passed, questions remain as to whether the quality of education learners receive is high enough,” she concluded.
