Matrics lose out on bonus 5%
The scrapping of this policy could likely see a further drop in the pass rate of matriculants in these subjects.
Since 1999, a policy existed which gave Matrics whose first language was not English or Afrikaans an extra 5 percent of their original mark for subjects like Geography and Mathematics.
National media yesterday reported this policy had been scrapped.
The policy was originally put in place as an interim measure, to compensate for the difficulty pupils faced when writing final exams in a language which was not their mother tongue.
According to the report, Basic Education spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said the department was “confident” that discontinuing the policy would not adversely affect the performance of pupils.
“Much has been done over the last few years to improve the language competency of learners across all grades,” he said.
Research published in the Perspectives in Education journal in March suggested there was strong evidence of disadvantage for Grade 12 pupils who were taught in and wrote their final exams in their second or third language.
Most children are taught in their first language from grades 1 to 3, with the switch to English being made in Grade 4.
The full report detailed the situation.
The scrapping of this policy could likely see a further drop in the pass rate of matriculants in these subjects.
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