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SA matric 'not worth it'
15/11/2005 11:08 - (SA)
Alet Rademeyer, Beeld
Pretoria - More than 80% of South Africans who took part in a debate programme on SABC2 on Sunday night believe that the country's matric certificate isn't worth the paper it is written on.
Despite repeated assurances by officials from the education department and Umalusi, the council for quality assurance in general and further education and training, that there is nothing wrong with the quality of this exam, many South Africans disagree.
By Monday morning, 94% of participants in the poll on The Big Question's website criticised the matric certificate.
One respondent compared it to a learner's licence but said you at least get something in return when you bribe someone for a learner's licence. "You can bribe people for a matric certificate but it will still get you nowhere."
Several participants were of the opinion that standards had dropped over the past few years and pass requirements had been lowered.
Pass rate not reliable
Theuns Horne, literacy expert and chief executive of Hough & Horne CC who took part in the programme, said research showed that only 12% of urban matriculants who are not English or Afrikaans first language speakers were functionally literate in English. In layman's terms, this means that they are at a Grade 8 level or higher compared to English mother tongue speakers.
Periodic surveys in rural areas showed that only 3% of non-English or Afrikaans speakers were functionally literate in English.
Horne said this means that more and more of these candidates who apply for work at various institutions were in possession of testimonials that did not agree with the basic skills they have.
Horne said an assumption that the pass rate improved by about 20% since 1998 is not reliable when one takes into account that literacy levels of pupils dropped from 20% to 12% over the same period.
"I don't buy the claim that today's matric is just as good as the one in the past. Inflated pass rates, statistic manipulation of marks, social engineering, outcomes-based education and the scrapping of higher and standard grade will not make matriculants functionally literate."
Doctor Theuns Eloff, vice-chancellor of the North West University, said studies over a long period showed that matric certificates were still the best single indicator of further academic performance - this despite other tests that were conducted.
"This is true because 'symbol inflation' does take place, but in this regard, universities have upped their admission requirements through the implementation of a selection model. This model requires, among other things, for higher symbols in certain fields of study."
- Beeld
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