Pass rate 'unacceptable'

2008-12-31 10:25

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The Eastern Cape MEC released a statement concerning the matric results for his province, and while he tried finding some good out of it using percentages and other fuzzy stats, he could not resist the temptation to deflect the blame on the previous government.

Refer the paragraph: "At this point it is crucial that we note the historical structural weaknesses that still prevail in our system that is invariably to the detriment of our learners from formerly disadvantaged schools".

When are these people going to take responsibility and accountability for their jobs? I can no longer accept such garbage. We all know the EC government is the worst managed and most wasteful province in the country. They have also had 14 + years & billions of rands to get their house in order. What have they done with it? Zip, zero, nada and bugger all. Neall

I must say that the unacceptable level of matriculants passing is a reflection on the government that they can ill afford. Don't they know that education is the only way to buy South Africa out of poverty and create real sustainable economic growth over the long term? The current levels of dedication and failure to correct the culture in schools is so unacceptable that I think the minister should not even be given the opportunity to resign. She should be fired as she is responsible for the state of education in our schools.

If the schools not directly under government control can excel it shows me it is a management issue. Thus like in any other business get the managers in place to get this bankrupted business back on the road to success, our future as a nation depends on it. But unfortunately as usual it will be brushed off and the incompetent minster and associates responsible will get increases above the national average for totally failing in the basic competencies of the job descriptions. - Willie Bosman

Here we go again, as the end of year Matric results come out: Clearly disparity from one region to another and the old chant of blame on the apartheid days. Who continues to dream up such utter crap? I say face the facts that those kids were just out of nappies in 1994 so using a historical excuse falls away. Look at the real self and the parents (more so) who continue to live in yester-years. All children want to succeed and not be left behind by the rest - they thrive on challenges, yet the older generation lives in the past and fails to see into the future. It's all about mindsets - and some people have their mind set in the wrong place. - Dave Rolfe

We have again seen poor results from our learners. Let's accept that there are under-resourced schools and let's concede that this is a legacy of the past. Let's also stop being politically correct and apportion blame where it belongs. It is an indisputable fact that education is dependent on the quality of the teacher more than on the physical environment. Great people have graduated from poor schools.

There seems to be one common factor that needs to be examined. Schools producing the poorest results appear to have more teachers involved in the Democratic Teachers Union. Is this coincidence? Teachers who have, as their priority, the well being of members of the union as opposed to the well being of the learners are never going to achieve the results we need. Minister Pandor should look at this very carefully. It may well be in the interests of our people to look at sacrificing these incompetent teachers for the good of the majority. Leave teaching to those who take pride and joy in their profession and say good riddance to those who think it's a "job". - Lloyd Macklin

For the fifth year in a row - our matric pass rate has dropped. South Africa used to be noted for its high education levels and was one of the best in the world. Now it is an embarrassment. What is happening? We are supposed to be uplifting our nation - not dragging it through the mud. Education - of any kind - is a major key role in a country progression. Quite frankly I think it is time to trade in our minister of education for somebody who knows what they are doing. This new system is even worse than the old system which was worse than the system it replaced.

Maybe it is time to dig up some of the dinosaur education systems that actually worked and bring them back. It is also a time to push for the education of teachers. I think under-qualified teachers are also a major contributing factor. If we continue to produce results like this our whole country is going to slide into the quagmire and turn into nothing but another poverty stricken African dump.

All our educated people who have any qualifications are leaving South Africa - mostly due to the crime rate or lack of job opportunities. I think it is time our government took a serious look at the major mistakes they are making and realise that they need to implement a whole new system - if not a whole new government. This is proof that you have to run a system with skilled people and not nepotism. Ginger

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Black children living in townships face same challenge as during apartheid. Most of these children live in poverty, so how can we expect them to study. Department of education can only do so much, but key is to improve condition that these children are expect to study in. Go look at some schools and see hungry children and poor conditions. We must uplift them!

Remember these words? Apartheid can no-longer be blamed! "Liberation before education" was a way to make the country ungovernable and create generations of masses who are not able to become productive/skilled except in population growth and crime. I say the ANC must be blamed for this 100%!! All these billions of rands and we have nothing to show for it, except social-engineering experiments. It just amazes me how everyone still blames apartheid, perhaps we should blame the culture of the

Very well written letter. As a concerned SA citizen, it bothers me to know that the pass rate is this low. My mother works for the department of education, and I know for a fact the % required to pass was lowered even more this year, and still children are failing. To have Matric was accepted by companies for a rather good job, but currently, it isn't worth anything, as the levels of education have been reduced drastically. Our kids need to take responsibility, as well as government...

I would have tendered my resignation long ago.A decrease five years in a row now! And as usual as with other underperforming government departments,we hear every form of excuse under the sun,from legacy of Apartheid to the implementation of the new "OBE" system.What happens to all thousands of kids that failed and how many are they going to be pushed through (or have already been pushed through)?

Kids are being pushed thru the lower grades to get to matric where they have no place to hide an fail. Now the standards have been lowered and still more fail, maybe we aint as bright as we think we are.

Teachers and learners needs to understand that they belong in the classroom. The education department gets the highest budgets yet nothing shows for such billions invested. Our MEC in Gauteng for Education said education is not important in the ANC, no wonder she fails to send textbooks to schools whilst sitting on a budget surplus. It takes no NASA scientist to tell why we have poor results.

Harrison, my friend, lets stop this foolishness. We cannot blame poverty for everything. its seems as South Africans we shy away from taking responsibility from our own actions. the results reflects the commitment from these teenagers lack of respect for education. They club like there's no tomorrow.

The education budget has increase 14x since Apartheid!! Imagine what Asian countries are capable of doing with this money! It is time for a cultural change in Africa as a whole and start accepting the reality that a mindset change is required.

poverty should be the main reason for these youngsters to succeed! I also blame the teachers and the parents for the poor results as well. Why do we always have to put the blame to Govt. Are we government babies. Message for the NEW YEAR - It starts with us! Let's take responsibility of our own actions!!!!!!!! Happy 2000devine!

White people still reached the top spots in the exams. Are we still going to blame Apartheid now, or are we going to face the facts ??? All these Matriculant was born long after Apartheid was demolished. Stuff like this shows me that Apartheid was never the real problem, but just the scapegoat for the real problem.

We can't blame the learners but those are supposed to convey knowledge to the learners. are our teachers especially those in the previous disadvantaged schools well equipped with knowledge to convert our children into future professionals? I attended my primary amd high school in a farm where some of the teachers were in a level below of the children they were teaching, so what do you expect to happen to the children's results in that regard?

What about the Soweto boy with i think 4 distinctions? It's not apartheid thats to blame, it's YOU, the parent, the lazy SADTU teachers and this sorry excuse of a government thats to blame. My god, get over "the world owe us everything". And NO, im not white!!!

Don't tell us this.Tell it to your marvellous government,you voted them in.Tell it also to the thousands of teachers who deem it far more important to go on strike for weeks at a time than the actual welfare of the children they have been tasked to educate.But I guess many of them need the extra dough in order to pay for the ARV's (or beetroot and African potato) they are taking.

The gov should dangle attarctive salaries for the teaching jobs in order to attract the intelligent man and woman. Let the teaching job be in the same level as accountacy, engineeing etc. then our education standard will improve.

The government is pathetic to say the least. It absolutely amazes me that they always blame their incompetence on apartheid. You have been in power for 14 years now, stop looking for excuses everytime your uselessness shines through. Get your act together, stop blaming everything on the "past" and start admitting to your own pathetic governance and things might change. You are a joke. SJO

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, as much as we cling to our belovered SA we are going downhill and soon it will be all over. Actions speaks louder than words, and once again history will repeat itself. The people running this country is no differant than the rest of Africa. So what do you expect? It all starts with yourself. So please fead this sh....t of blaming apartheid to your ANC tjommies!

I second that! We can't continously blame others for the poor results. As soon as the government accepts that and admits that they screwing up the quicker we can get over it and set our kids on the right course with a better education.

I tend to agree to some degree. But as a white african I must admit that a child is formed by its parents AND its environment. Bad management in school is a crucial factor, but I feel sorry for the black children who have so many more challenges than many other (outside of townships) don't have. But the answer is not reducing standards... it never was, and never will be. By this the government is implying the young generation is not smart enough...and that is a bullshit-racist attitude.

this proves once again the need for strong political opposition to keep the ruling party honest. If there is no political pressure to deliver, there is no political will to come up with the goods. They'll just keep feeding us the same tired excuses safe in the knowledge that their jobs are secure because no one is going to hold them accountable for thier incompetance. Do everyone a favour and vote for someone else next time around.

What else can this flipping ANC mess up? They are good liberators that we agree, but damn they are bad managers and administrators; truth be told. Crime, Education, Maintenance (Dirty small towns), Public service, Corruption, Service delivery and all the other crap you can pile on! People were more literate during apartheid than today. Can you believe that the passing mark for some matric subjects was between 30% and 40%? What mark did the failed Matriculants get? 10%? Pathetic!!!

While it does not make sense to blame everything on apartheid it still has a part. Just because everybody could vote from 1994 does not mean the township/rural schools can suddenly perform to expectations as if by magic. Some schools still do not have libraries, laboratories, computer centres or sports facilities. Add to that corruption, maladministration, lazy teachers (not all of them) and kids who kill each other instead of studying. Where is the education budget going?

Well put Thandile.We need to have a national debate about this and solutions to the real problems must be found,and fast.These kids are the future of our country after all,and we don't need any more lost generations made to feel as though they are worthless (and possibly turning to crime).The first mistake would be to persist with the OBE system and that decision has already been made by Pandor & co.

Should be: Education, then Liberation! I have news for the people in SA: You have not been "liberated" at all. The only thing the ANC achieved was "liberating" you to draw an X where they wanted you to.

Africa should look to Asia. Most Asian countries are poor but the people work extremely hard and the kids study hard. They don't have sense of entitlement. We should stop blaming and start working. Life isn't fair after all, but what you make of it

Did I hear someone say that poverty is main reason why this kids fail ? well if you can't be motivated by poverty to study hard then I don't know what on earth will motivate you.the reason why these youngsters fail i simple they don't see school as a way to prosperous life for them, being a DJ is easy and fun.

It is clear that the current government does not have the capacity or capability to address the problem, even if it is dependent on other sociso-economic factors. Just listen to them talk. They always say what should be done, what can be done, how things might turn out, etc. but never what exactly they are doing. South Africans who want to see change must do two things: hold politicians and administrators accountable (change your vote) and help where you can. It's up to us.

@Thandile; I agree with your statement 100%; Our government cannot blame apartheid after 14 years; it seems to be the excuse for every problem our country faces. This has to stop and the citizens of the NEW SOUTH AFRICA have to take responsibility for their own actions and make the government accountable for their failures. WE CANNOT ALLOW OUR POLITICIANS TO PLAY THE APARTHEID CARD ANYMORE.

I recently returned from a site visit in Africa (I work in IT), and a colleague from the African country who is on the same professional level as myself was writting his exams for a PhD. This guy cannot do his current job in IT support and I wouldnt hire him to mow my lawn. It just shows the level of education in Africa. A Doctors or Masters degree from African countries is equvalent to a matric in the rest of the world, and then at a stretch. It is very sad really.

When the English denied any government assistance after the Boer War to schools where Afrikaans was spoken that did not deter them . They set up farms schools and did it themselves. The discriminatory practices of business and government against the slain Afrikaner kept them down and created the "armblanke vraagstuk". No whining then , they focussed on education ,creating the "Reddingdaad bond" to assist talented youngsters and saw to it that education was top priority. The rest is history.

Let me say some one must just follow this CARE & SHARE,Competitiveness,to be focused,Attitude to be open and share issues and learnings,Responsibility to be disciplined ,Execution please let be effective.Happy newyear let see different next year 2009.

...but also i like wht black1 said "poverty shud b the main reason for these youngsters to succeed"...well said Black..!!!only if thari e ntsho wud just see things there way we do and even better than us,the world wud b a better place!!

I have just spoken to a young lady from a very rural school in KZN, with no library,no laboratory and large classes. She received 6 A's and a B. It seems that work ethic has a lot to do with success and continually blaming the situation does not!

In as much as we want to blame the OBE system of education, the youth should take responsibility for their life and actions, Its simple, you read you pass, you dont you fail. Iam a south african who went to a rural catholic school in Zimbawe in the 90s and we did not have computers & apparatus for our science projects but we improvised and passed, I do not understand how they fail with internet and all at exposal, maybe that is what makes them dull cause they dont read but just click 4 an answer

Both Japan & Germany who, after being bombed into the ground during WW11 were well on their way to becoming superpowers 10 (nevermind 15) years after. It all boils down to ethic. Unfortunately black Africa's culture of the cupped hand keeps it in the dirt. Rather than working hard & smart most black Africans seem content to sit back & wait for bread to be delivered to their table all the while complaining of the unjust past. WAKE TF UP!!!

Painful as it may coming from an African, the truth is that history of Afrikaaners and other previuosely oppressed nations worlwide can give us lessons to fix not only our Education sytem but other areas as well.When entering the 1994 era we should not have scrapped eveything in educ.as not everything was wrong instead built on that.Africans must rise to this challenge now or leave to regret in years to come.

And unfortunately the government is breeding a nation of stupid people. I agree with The Truth, Neli Pandoor with her high and mighty attitude should be given the boot. One cannot even begin to bring aparthied into this, the ANC has dropped the pass levels over the recent years. VIVA 2009 ELECTIONS HAMBA ANC!!!

Thousands of very qualified white teachers were unceremoniously dumped in favour of unqualified AA teachers. Many of them worked in townships and rural areas. Most of them have left the country or are employed in other industries, lost forever. That is why AA is such an absolute stupid system in a country where there is a huge skills shortage. Revenge may be sweet, but it doesn?t educate the kids. Then, to make matters worse, we keep on lowering the education standard in the hope of improving results. Absurd, to say the least!

The blaming game and lowering of standards to pathetic levels will not solve the education problem. Those who blame apartheid for everything and worship POLITICS as the god and panacea of all ills, must rather aspire to use whatever intelligence bestowed on them to the fullest.

Disaster is just around the corner for SA. I have been around for long enough to see and experience it all. The majority of officials at all levels are totally incompetent and have no clue about the damage they inflicting on our international status and the people of SA in general. High time that we have a competent govt with officials that realize they're actually paid to work and not just there to look and sound intelligent and important. Work ethics needs a drastic and complete overall.

As a parent of 2 school going boys I'm astounded that anyone would consider a pass mark of 30-40% as acceptable, and more so when this comes from our government. I teach my boys that dedication, hard work & self discipline are key ingredients to success and yet the government, by setting these levels, is sending out the message that it is okay to be less than mediocre. This is not helping to instil the qualities that will make our children successful or competitive in the global market.

Students just don't care.I HATE Apartheid whinging,but, The reason why Apartheid DID have a part to play was because the parents are not educated properly, so it's not a priority instilled onto the kids.Our Education system needs to tackle low morale of students, and give them a reason to learn. Carreer days, Science fairs/competitions,etc. (aimed at ALL schools with low grades - not just one race group or the other) Simply handing out computers will not accomplish anything. Focus on the FUTURE!

It is easy to blame Apartheid, Bantu Education and inequalities again for the poor performance. These reasons are given 14 years into ANC rule. What they do not address or mention is the culture of minimum input and maximum reward prevailing in schools and society. Political agendas amongst teachers and students in schools, disrespect for parents and instigation of political activism by COSA and ANCYL and SADTU are not mentioned. http://blogs.24.com/ViewBlog.aspx?blogid=9f5d3758-e66f-4448-8dS

What always amazes me is 15 years ago we had everything of the best. Best education, hospitals, police, army, etc. All that the ANC had to do was maintain it. Rather sad that nothing in 15 years has worked for the better. We probably WILL end up like Zimbabwe!!! It's happened every where else in Africa, so I suppose we next. LOL

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Pass rate 'unacceptable'

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