Our national strategy for improving literacy and numeracy has assisted in improving education quality,’ claimed the minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, on the release of the latest National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.
She
may be right. Results of the Annual National Assessments show slight
improvements in basic numeracy and literacy. The number and proportion of
pupils passing the NSC is starting to rise. Enrolment at primary schools has
been rising.
So
why is everyone so up in arms about the state of education in South Africa
(apart from, perhaps, the minister herself)? Because she is missing the point.
By focusing on small improvements, she comes across as indifferent to, or
ignorant of, the glaring and persistent inadequacies of the system. It is like
admiring the shiny doorknob on a house that is crumbling.
The slight
improvements mask the fact that only one in five NSC pupils taking maths and
science manage to get above 50% — fewer than could five years ago. They hide
the fact that the number of pupils taking maths and physical sciences has
fallen by around 20% in the last six years. The incremental changes also ignore
the fact that millions of children are dropping out of the system along the
way, leaving them with no qualifications and little prospect of ever getting a
job.
For those
who do make it through to pass their NSC, two thirds do not pass well enough to
study for a degree. Even those who do get into university are not necessarily coming
out of school fully equipped. The University of Johannesburg, for example, will
be spending R100m this year on bringing new students up to university level.
South
Africa’s education system is ranked 140th out of 144 yet we spend more than 5%
of GDP on it (a higher proportion than many other emerging markets). It is time
for the minister to stop burying her head in the sand.
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