FOCUS SHOULD NOT BE ON MATRIC RESULTS
EVERY year we eagerly await the matric results – an old tradition signalling the end of a schooling journey for pupils and the start of higher education for those fortunate enough to have the opportunity.
These results usually raise the same questions about the performance of pupils in Grade 12, and the pass rate thereof. The answers remain largely the same, so we focus on provincial performance and the competition of which province outperformed the others.
It is this unique culture that engages us all in dialogue for a day or three about the education system, and then we go back to our normal daily routines and the quality of educational outcomes disappears until the next cycle of matric results.
This year was no different; we were glued to our screens across platforms reviewing the long-awaited results with bated breath after the challenging school year faced by our Matric Class of 2020. Much of the coverage hinged on the outcome of one schooling year rather than the already constrained education system.
Is it not time to remove the focus from matric results and rather interrogate the early phases in the schooling journey? To ask structural questions at the end of a schooling career is a futile exercise. Grade 12 is technically a revision year as no new concepts are introduced, meaning that our focus would be best placed at Grade 11 and Grade 10 results.
The interruptions brought about by the pandemic are acknowledged, but what was the extent of the damage and how long will the recovery process be? What plans does the Department of Basic Education have to manage this risk further down the line? The questions that we ought to ask should help us understand whether the number of pupils who enter the basic education schooling journey at Grade R have adequate comprehension skills to cope with the next phase of their learning journey at intermediate phase?
If we want to improve educational outcomes, then our focus should not be on matric results. It should rather be on the performance of pupils when they exit the early childhood development phase or the highly contentious intermediate phase.
It is easier to hold the department to account when we move the spotlight to the earlier years of learning.