‘Changes avoiding root of problem’
Quality, training of teachers key to good education
South Africa’s education is suffering from transformation fatigue and the continuous changing of the curricula does not address its problems.
University of the Witwatersrand’s Professor Felix Maringe said South Africa was the only country in the world which has “undergone no less than four major curricula changes within a 20-year period”.
“The poor performance of the system relative to other educational systems in the region and internationally can be attributed to the numerous changes that have taken place in the post-94 dispensation,” Maringe told Sowetan.
He was reacting to the Government Gazette notice which seeks to amend the Schools Act. If passed, this will allow the Department of Basic Education to remove maths as a compulsory subject for pupils studying accounting until matric.
In 1998, the late former education
● minister Kader Asmal introduced the widely criticised outcomes-based education system;
Former education minister
●
Naledi Pandor introduced the national curriculum statement for Grade 10s in 2006, Grade 11s in 2007 and Grade 12s in 2008, saying it was internationally benchmarked.
A few years later the revised
● national curriculum statement was implemented over a number of years to various grades.
In 2011, there was outcry from ● teacher unions and experts after the dep artment took a decision to implement the curriculum and assessment policy statement (Caps).
Maringe said teachers did not have time to “hone the skills necessitated by the frequent changes”.
“Learners become the victims in an environment where there is no curricula stability. The proposed change aimed at not making mathematics compulsory for learners taking accounting is short-sighted and ill-informed.
“The issue of dropping of standards is one that the nation has to grapple with very seriously. Standards are benchmarked at various levels.
“We fail our learners on our own internal benchmarks. That calls for serious introspection on many levels, including the training of our teachers... Equally we need stability not frequent knee-jerk tinkering with the curriculum every time we think learners are not getting it,” Maringe said.
His sentiments were echoed by the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) which said the department was “responding emotionally” to education problems.
Sadtu deputy general secretary Nkosana Dolopi said: “It is going to be a challenge. Maths is a basic of life. To count, you need maths, to drive, you need maths. The department needs to avoid emotional responses. They must deal with the challenges in the education system.
“All the department wants is to look good in their pass rate but what about the quality of education?
“What the department should be doing is to ensure that teachers are well-trained. Maths also needs individual attention and schools are faced with overcrowding. The department must not be quick to drop requirements without identifying the challenges.”
‘ ‘ Learners are victims if there is no curricula stability