The Civil Engineering Contractor February 2018 | Page 3

COMMENT Does SA have passable education? W Kim Kemp - editor [email protected] ho remembers when achieving six distinctions in matric was, well — distinctive? By the matric results published in January 2018, this now appears old hat; but do not be fooled. Back in circa 1990s, the pass for any subject was 50% and that included maths and science, whereas now, the percentage for many subjects has plummeted to 30% and dropped even further for maths, to 20% as from January 2017. Pushing students through the machinations of the educational system does not bode well for the country, given the paucity of skills within a medley of sectors, including engineering. South Africa’s Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga announced that the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination pass rate in 2017, including progressed learners, stood at 75.1%. Within this nestled a total of 161 081 distinctions, including in key subjects, such as accounting, business studies, economics, mathematics, and physical science. In response, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Nomsa Marchesi, criticised the results for not being a true reflection of the ‘real’ pass rate, drawing attention to how many Grade 10s from two years ago have passed matric — and the unacceptably high figure of dropouts. “The 2017 national matric pass rate for candidates who wrote the exams was 75.1%, while the ‘real’ pass rate — the number of Grade 10s from 2015 who passed matric in 2017 — was only 37.3%,” Marchesi added. Marchesi also referenced the recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Studies (PIRLS) 2016 study, which saw South Africa placed last in Grade 4 reading skills out of 50 countries. The study revealed that 78% of South African Grade 4 pupils are illiterate. The question begging is, how eager would business be to take on a graduate who skimmed through a course riding on a 30% pass? While it is true that to pass matric, students need to achieve 30% in some subjects, this requirement does not apply to all subjects and will not guarantee entry into a public university. According to the Department of Basic Education’s website [www.education.gov. za/Curriculum/NationalSeniorCertificate (NSC)], a matric pass requires 40% in three subjects, one of which is an official language at home language level, and 30% in three subjects. Entry to a university degree course, however, requires a rating of 4 (Adequate Achievement, 50–59%) or better in any four of the designated subjects: accounting, information technology, agricultural sciences, languages, business studies, life sciences, consumer studies, mathematics, dramatic arts, mathematical literacy, economics, music, engineering graphics and design, physical sciences, geography, religion studies, history and visual arts. Diplomas and study at a Further Education and Training (FET) or Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) require less stringent entry criteria. Under Zuma’s stewardship, though, the matric pass rate showed an astounding improvement, soaring to an all-time high of 78.2% in 2013 — something that sent concerned reverberations through the academic world that, in 2014, claimed the concept of a matric pass rate was “an illusion and a farce”, not reflecting any real substance in academic performance, and lacking tangible evidence of improvement in education quality over time. According to Frans Cronje, deputy CEO at the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), in an article for the Independent Education, the official magazine of the Independent Schools Association of South Africa, “At the most basic level of education, roughly the same proportions of children pass today as at any other time over the past 50 years. This suggests that, on a basic level, the quality of education provided in South Africa’s schools may not have shifted much over the past 50 years. What should also be of concern is that the overall school pass rate remained relatively static, even as the university pass rate fell. This may suggest a dumbing down of the former.” Indeed, it is concerning that as South Africa struggles with a skills deficit, we are not upping the ante within the education system to become truly competitive in the international arena, to reignite flagging business confidence, and boost the turgid economy. nn CEC February 2018 - 1