Angie Motshekga, our minister for basic education, released what seemed a very pleasing matric pass rate of 78.2% yesterday, but experts have claimed that these results are not of any real value.

When Angie stepped in in 2009, our national matric pass rate was 60.6%. She’s helped it climb to where it is today, which is no mean feat.

But according to national education experts, it’s not about the quantity of those who pass, but the quality of the education they have received. Rapport covered a story in which experts claimed that many students who passed matric cannot write or do basic mathematics.

Mybroadband reports that Theuns Eloff, vice-chancellor at North-West University, said that the matric pass rate which increased from 60.6% in 2009 to the current 78.2% is an illusion.

Free State vice-chancellor Jonathan Jansen said that the truth is that South Africa’s education system is a fraud. He highlighted some prominent problems with SA’s education system in a Sunday Times column:

• 5% of grade 6 pupils know more about mathematics than the bottom 20% of mathematics teachers in the same grade.
• The national average for grade 9 mathematics is 14%. Only 3% of pupils scored higher than 50%.
• South Africa finished last, or close to last, in international mathematics and science rankings.

Experts also point to the fact that exam papers seem to be getting easier. In a comparison between the matric mathematics papers of 1985, 1993, 2008 and 2012, experts said that the 1985 and 1993 papers were significantly harder than the 2008 and 2012 papers.

These statistics are worrying particularly for the IT industry, who claim to be struggling with hiring incompetent graduates.

[Source : Mybroadband]