Stats hide the truth about maths, science
President Jacob Zuma relies on statistics in his State of the Nation address (Sona) to “prove” how South Africa has progressed under ANC rule. In the process he often relies on unqualified and selective statistics.
In the latest Sona, he quoted inter alia from a speech the minister of basic education delivered earlier: that learners have improved by 87 points in mathematics and by 90 in natural sciences in the 2016 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) examinations.
He said this proves South Africa’s education in maths and natural sciences “showed the greatest improvement in the world”. (The average score in the Timss tests is 600 points.)
That sounds impressive but it is a large-scale deception. The Timss test is conducted every four years and provides participating countries with the means to compare learner performance in maths and science. Grade four and grade eight learners are tested in all countries that take part in the study.
Because of South Africa’s dismal performance in previous tests, it was decided in 2015 that learners in grades five and nine would participate this time. It can be compared to a school athletics meeting in which 15-year-olds are allowed to participate in the under-13 category.
Despite this, South Africa “improved” from being the last (among 48 participating countries) to the second-last position for grade four maths, second-last for grade eight maths, and last for grade eight science (out of 38 participating countries). South Africa did not participate in grade four natural sciences.
So, with a bit of deception and misuse of statistics, everything improves under ANC rule. ■ The Sona is a festival of the rich. It serves the purpose of (1) displaying the might of the state through things such as military parades, (2) showcasing the fashion and dress sense of the social and political elite, and (3) projecting the false image of a robust democracy that provides airtime to even the “disruptive voices” in society.
It is part and parcel of the process of the reification of social reality.
Dispensing with the Sona ceremony could be a useful saving of state resources and public funds. The president can just get into a television studio and present the address, with all the television and radio channels airing it.
Copies of his speech can be made available immediately to the public online. Then Parliament can discuss it at its next sitting. ■ In a democratic South Africa, every learner has a right to quality education. But we still have complaints from schoolchildren — from those who study outside, squat on the floor or attend class under bad conditions, which is an obvious hint that we are not doing enough to offer them what is rightfully theirs.
On mud schools, Zuma said that “895 schools now provide a conducive learning environment”. As much as I do not trust the numbers on education given by Zuma in his Sona, I do trust the objectives of the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative, and it’s good to know that through this programme we can at least try to eradicate substandard mud schools.