'Can't compare matric results'
2008-12-30 16:22
Pretoria - The 2008 matric results cannot be compared to those of the previous year, education department Director General Duncan Hindle said in Pretoria on Tuesday.
"This is a different exercise so we can't compare it - what we're doing is setting a benchmark," he told a press briefing.
This year's matric candidates were the first to write exams under the Outcomes Based Education system.
Hindle said that the new curriculum was composed of 29 subjects. These were modern, updated and more demanding versions of previous subjects.
He added that it was important to note that all subjects "were infused with the values of the Constitution". All subjects also demanded extensive reading and writing.
Hindle emphasised that the new curriculum had not been "dropped upon students.
"The implementation was phased and we didn't compel all schools to offer all 29 subjects."
- SAPA