Lessons from past matric results

“Promoting learners in the foundation phase, especially to progress into the intermediate phase, should be avoided, as the basic foundations are important for higher grades.”

This is one of the views expressed by Dr Muki Moeng, Dean of Education at Nelson Mandela University, while commenting on the 2021 matric pass rate.

“Considering this is the first class that experienced Grade 11 and 12 under national lockdown measures – which included school closures, rotational timetables, classroom platooning and constant changes to learning environments – you can say that the 2021 matriculants have gone beyond expectation,” said Dr Moeng.

Statistics show that 24.6 percent of candidates who wrote the 2021 National Senior Certificate examinations did not pass matric. Dig deeper and the dropout rate of learners between Grade 10 and 12 is 32.7 percent (341 403 learners). 897 163 learners wrote the 2021 matric examinations, but the Grade 10 enrolment in 2019 was 1 045 424. This means that 148 261 learners dropped out of the education system and did not complete matric. Plus, given the current economic conditions, there is little going for these learners and the harshest of critics will say that the education system has failed them.

Dr Moeng says: “The performance of the Class of 2021 does not negate the inequalities that are in the education system and the difficulties that learners have to go through on their schooling journey. Learners who drop out of school or fail to pass matric, or even those who matriculate without at least a higher certificate pass, have no realistic avenues to further their education, nor are they adequately geared to directly enter the job market.’’

A lack of teaching equipment and resources, as well as oversized classes, all impact on learners’ schooling experiences and resultant performances. There is also a lack of support from the department when it comes to the progression of learners. Learners who do not make the grade, are often pushed through to the next grade, without the guidance and support that is necessary to help them grasp the curriculum in the next phase of learning.

Dr Moeng says this should be avoided as the basic foundations are important for higher grades. ‘’It is better in the long run to rather hold a child back and for them to get the basics right, before progressing to the next grade. To this end, proper support for teachers in the classroom needs to be provided, as well as psychosocial support that will assist in early diagnosis and referral.”

She also says that at the same time, a blind eye cannot be turned to the socioeconomic factors that impact learners on their journeys to matric. “Learners in impoverished communities often experience pitfalls and setbacks unrelated to education, such as a lack of nutrition, a lack of resources and reading material, minimal social interaction in early development years, poor family support, violence and abuse, and on top of this, disruptions caused by Covid-19.

“How can we expect a learner to make it to and pass matric if he or she, for example, live in a disruptive household or goes to school on an empty stomach? These are the struggles that so many of our learners have to overcome, and is something government needs to address if our youth are to be uplifted out of poverty and lead a prosperous life,’’ says Dr Moeng.

Another challenge experienced by learners is the undue pressures from family and the schooling system itself to succeed. Learners are often forced to take subjects for which they show no aptitude or interest. “We really are fooling ourselves if we think that everyone can become an academic and graduate at university,’’ says Dr Moeng. “Learners are wired differently, and those who show no appetite for the mainstream curriculum should be equipped with the knowledge and skills to pursue vocational careers or entrepreneurial opportunities. The unfortunate reality is that we, as a country, are not doing enough to channel resources into vocational training and entrepreneurship in secondary and tertiary education,” she says.

On this issue, she says the pandemic exposed the glaring inequalities in our education system and, at the same time, gave us the opportunities to explore with technology to improve teaching and learning going forward. “We must not forego the opportunity that the pandemic has presented, and investments must be made in the methodologies that have worked for us during the pandemic. Government must provide the necessary infrastructure and equipment needed in order to do this,’’ says Dr Moeng.