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I see the matric pass rate is down 
, but the number of learners qualifying for tertiary education increased 
. There may be questions about OBE, as something new it would come as no surprise that it could at least do with some tweaking.
But it really looks like the issue that most needs attention is the obvious inequalities in results/standards that keep on emerging.
What is causing the problem? And how are they solved.
Those are some pretty divergent views already.
One thing that struck me was a school featured on Morning Live this morning that had drastically improved their results despite serious resource shortages. There was a nervous passion amongst the educators about the results of their learners there that couldn't be missed.
Maybe resources isn't the key issue here, although there is no denying adequate resources help. Supportive home conditions must also help, but I'd guess the home conditions of the learners at that shool probably didn't change that much over a year.
Maybe making sure there is a passion for education in all the schools is the key.
, but the number of learners qualifying for tertiary education increased . There may be questions about OBE, as something new it would come as no surprise that it could at least do with some tweaking.But it really looks like the issue that most needs attention is the obvious inequalities in results/standards that keep on emerging.
What is causing the problem? And how are they solved.
The South African Teachers' Union (SAOU) expressed "dismay" at the decrease and the Professional Educators' Union (PEU) expressed "some measure of disappointment".
"We believe that to maintain the momentum for increased access, we have to understand and address the factors which lead to drop out and failure," Sadtu president Thobile Ntola said in a statement.
"Our sense is that issues of historical disadvantage and poverty associated with race, class and the rural-urban divide, and uneven support and poor management, especially in some districts and provinces, are crucial here, and we would expect the Department of Education to deepen its analysis in this respect," he said.
full story from M&G here
"We believe that to maintain the momentum for increased access, we have to understand and address the factors which lead to drop out and failure," Sadtu president Thobile Ntola said in a statement.
"Our sense is that issues of historical disadvantage and poverty associated with race, class and the rural-urban divide, and uneven support and poor management, especially in some districts and provinces, are crucial here, and we would expect the Department of Education to deepen its analysis in this respect," he said.
full story from M&G here
Vijay Reddy from the Human Sciences Research Council said the 2,7% drop in the matric pass rate to 62,5% was "very worrying because it means that 38%, or four out of ten, have failed".
However Reddy said it was "admirable" that university entry passes increased by 4% for the first batch of matrics to have completed school under the much-contested outcomes-based education (OBE) system.
Seen side by side, the two figures proved that the inequalities of the past persist because students from better resourced schools were better able to adapt to the OBE programme, Reddy said.
"We are seeing that pupils who were doing well have improved and that those who were performing poorly have been further disadvantaged under the new system.
"One of the aims of the new system was to level the playing fields but it will take more than one generation of outcomes-based education to achieve that."
Milnerton High School headmaster Paul Besener agreed, saying the results of the first matrics to write the new national senior certificate confirmed expectations that most traditionally advantaged schools would adapt smoothly to the new curriculum.
The Western Cape provincial education minister, Yousuf Gabru, said it was cause for concern that the number of schools with pass rates of less than 60% had suddenly increased by nearly 20% compared to 2007.
"The results show that we still have a long way to go to ensure access to success in all schools."
Brian O'Connell, the rector of the University of the Western Cape, said the 2008 matric results should not be blamed on historical inequalities but should serve as a warning of a crisis in the South African education system.
"There is nothing surprising in the results. We have no right to expect them to be any different." he said.
The problem, O'Connell said, was the political failure to build a post-apartheid culture of learning to make up for lost decades when education was a tug of war.
"We should stop throwing around the resources thing and ask why we don't have a strong national culture of learning, instilled from the presidency downwards.
"We have no leadership in schools and we have no quality control."
full story from M&G here
However Reddy said it was "admirable" that university entry passes increased by 4% for the first batch of matrics to have completed school under the much-contested outcomes-based education (OBE) system.
Seen side by side, the two figures proved that the inequalities of the past persist because students from better resourced schools were better able to adapt to the OBE programme, Reddy said.
"We are seeing that pupils who were doing well have improved and that those who were performing poorly have been further disadvantaged under the new system.
"One of the aims of the new system was to level the playing fields but it will take more than one generation of outcomes-based education to achieve that."
Milnerton High School headmaster Paul Besener agreed, saying the results of the first matrics to write the new national senior certificate confirmed expectations that most traditionally advantaged schools would adapt smoothly to the new curriculum.
The Western Cape provincial education minister, Yousuf Gabru, said it was cause for concern that the number of schools with pass rates of less than 60% had suddenly increased by nearly 20% compared to 2007.
"The results show that we still have a long way to go to ensure access to success in all schools."
Brian O'Connell, the rector of the University of the Western Cape, said the 2008 matric results should not be blamed on historical inequalities but should serve as a warning of a crisis in the South African education system.
"There is nothing surprising in the results. We have no right to expect them to be any different." he said.
The problem, O'Connell said, was the political failure to build a post-apartheid culture of learning to make up for lost decades when education was a tug of war.
"We should stop throwing around the resources thing and ask why we don't have a strong national culture of learning, instilled from the presidency downwards.
"We have no leadership in schools and we have no quality control."
full story from M&G here
One thing that struck me was a school featured on Morning Live this morning that had drastically improved their results despite serious resource shortages. There was a nervous passion amongst the educators about the results of their learners there that couldn't be missed.
Maybe resources isn't the key issue here, although there is no denying adequate resources help. Supportive home conditions must also help, but I'd guess the home conditions of the learners at that shool probably didn't change that much over a year.
Maybe making sure there is a passion for education in all the schools is the key.
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