Maths: the real test

ANY change in education policy needs to be considered carefully and communicated clearly, or parents worried about the future of their children will panic. The Department of Basic Education demonstrated that it had still not learnt that lesson this week when it made a hash of communicating the perfectly sensible decision to allow pupils in grades 7, 8 and 9 who fail maths but achieve a mark of more than 20% to progress to the next grade.

The immediate outcry was that standards were falling. Not so. In fact, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s department righted a wrong.

Until now, pupils in grades 7, 8 or 9 who failed maths had to repeat the school year no matter how well they did in their other subjects, which was inconsistent and damaging to children not mathematically inclined. Neither in grades 1 to 6, nor in grades 10 to 12 does anyone have to repeat the year because they failed maths.

The new regulation brings the requirements to pass grades 7, 8 and 9 in line with the rest of the schooling system. It does not mean you have passed maths if you have obtained 20%. It means you will not have to repeat the year simply for failing maths.

The challenge regarding maths is not, however, resolved by the new regulation.

Provincial education departments will need to make provision for pupils who have to study additional concepts in the new grade without having mastered the syllabus of the previous one.

The fact remains that the standard of maths teaching in the disadvantaged schooling sector is among the worst in the world due to poor teacher training, a teacher union that opposes competency testing of teachers, and a government that lacks the backbone to act against a political ally that is destroying our children’s future.

The toughest challenge remains unresolved.