Ilembe matric results alarming

Matrics cheered across the country on the morning of January 6, when they received their results, but the lack of applause in Ilembe tells a grim story.

Ilembe’s pass rate plummeted to 59,2%, the second lowest in the province, from the previous year’s 72.4%.

Ilembe also got the lowest pass rates in the province for the following subjects: accounting (52.3%), business studies (60.4%), economics (53.6%), mathematical literacy (63.5%), mathematics (25.9%) and physical science (45.2%).

The frightening part is that only 30% is needed to pass a subject and yet, only a quarter of Ilembe’s mathematics pupils managed to get 30% and above.

KZN also had to swallow hard with this year’s results, as the province did not only have the highest pass rate drop, but it is also home to 28 centres accused of cheating.

KZN achieved a pass rate of 69.7%, a decline from 77.4% in 2013, and a drop of 7.7 percentage points, which is the steepest decline of all the provinces.

This is particularly concerning, when KZN had the largest number of Grade 12 pupils in the 2014 NSC examinations.

Education researcher in the economics department at Stellenbosch University, Nic Spaull, said the root of the problem causing the decreasing pass rates is far deeper and requires work from as early as grade 1. The problem is not only in matric.

“The bottom line is that we should not be using matric as the indicator of improvement or failure of our education system. There needs to be a solid commitment to improve both curriculum coverage and teacher quality, both of which are severely deficient.

“Hosting a few afternoon classes or weekend workshops for teachers is unlikely to make any meaningful dent in the mathematics crisis. We need major shifts in teacher training and student support in mathematics and science.”

Furthermore international assessments that SA takes part in showed that South African students are 2-3 grade levels behind their peers in comparable countries, meaning that only the top 5-10% of students may be able to compete internationally.

“The low quality of education offered to most students means that they are severely disadvantaged in the global labour market,” he said.