Hoopla is masking school system faults

One of the most stark contradictions in South African society is the general belief that the education system is substandard. Yet every year, the results of the school-leaver’s exams (matric) get better and better. The national results will be released tomorrow, but indications are already, according to a number of reports, that the overall pass rate will top 80% for the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994.

That would seem to indicate a system in fine fettle – and, indeed, when ANC apparatchiks launch their PowerPoint presentations, they will gloat about their achievements. There is little discussion about whether the current matric pass rates, which can go as low as 30% in some subjects, are appropriate to a country wanting to improve schooling standards.

Nor is there reference to the fact that, in international benchmark tests in maths, science and even reading for meaning at primary school, SA lags woefully behind the best in the world, and also is bested by poorer, developing countries.

The real matric results lie in the tragic reality, as experts continually point out, that those who pass matric at the end of Grade 12 represent less than 40% of all the pupils who began Grade 1 education. The missing 60% is a massive, lost generation.

The fact that so many children fall by the wayside may help the matric pass figures to be massaged into the appearance of progress, but the situation is a national tragedy.

In addition, many pupils who write, and pass, matric are being sold the illusion that they are university material, when they are not – and failure rates for basic degrees still remain high.

The sad aspect to the situation is that the hoopla and back-slapping which will accompany tomorrow’s results continues to mask the fault lines in our schooling system.