Examination standards are ‘on a par’
WHEN parents must decide about their children’s schooling several factors will weigh on their minds, but chief among those is likely to be whether the school of their choice will match their expectations for their children’s education.
A sound education is a broad concept and most schools, especially independent schools (previously known as private schools), emphasise a holistic education, that is, one that will develop the whole person — academically, physically and spiritually. It is certain, however, that any school with a reputation for poor academic achievements is unlikely to be among parents’ top choices.
About 80% of SA’s public schools are said to be academically dysfunctional, which means that many households, including modest ones, now consider independent schooling. Although independent schools increasingly range from high-end exclusive institutions to low-fee institutions that are in many cases less expensive than many public schools, affordability must be weighed against the benefit.
Independent schools are quick to point out that their academic standards are considerably higher than that of public schools, basing that, in the first instance, on their near perfect matric pass rate, while public schools languish at about 73%.
That is in part attributed to the large classes that are the result of limited resources, but also to poor performance of teachers and school principals employed by the state. Public schools struggle to fill teaching vacancies, while independent schools, such as those in the Curro group, have thousands of teachers on their databases, allowing them to take their pick.
There is also a perception the Independent Examination Board (IEB) matric exam, which is written by most independent school students, is cognitively more demanding than the National Senior Certificate (NSC), which is the exam written by public school students. It is frequently given as the reason for a lower dropout rate at university than students with a NSC matric.
Kingsmead College’s headmistress, Lisa Kaplan, says that while the IEB exam is in line with international standards, the government certification agency Umalusi ensures that standards are comparable. She does point out though that Kingsmead runs programmes such as research skills, critical thinking and research essays, which equip students for the tertiary phase of their education. Kaplan suggests that the introduction to public schools of some of these programmes may be beneficial.
“We also have outstanding teachers and a high academic standard which makes integrating into universities easier,” she says.
Allan Zulberg, CEO of Eden schools, dismisses the suggestion that the IEB exam is more demanding than the NSC exam.
“There is a common core syllabus. The perception that IEB is more demanding is elitist and an attempt by certain parties to denigrate the provincial exams.”
He says also that the university dropout rate — 35% to 50% for NSC students and 2% for IEB students — is not an accurate measure of independent schools’ achievements, since the majority of matriculants write the NSC exam. He says also that by far the greater majority of students from disadvantaged communities, which is an important factor in drop-out rates, happen to have written the NSC exam.
Zulberg points out that Eden Schools write the NSC exams set by the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal education departments as a matter of choice and the group’s Durban school achieves more than four distinctions per candidate a year, with top candidates averaging more than 96% over nine subjects.
“We do this consistently and our pupils do well at universities. Each year the universities and professional firms head-hunt our pupils,” he says.