Shocking figures must be reversed

SOUTH Africa’s Grade 9 pupils scored a dismal 13% for maths in the Annual National Assessment this year.

Pupil performance, particularly in the Eastern Cape, is sadly often expected to be below par. However the results released this week highlight a shocking trend of a post-apartheid generation who cannot read or count.

Every child is born with potential and it is the responsibility of the government and parents to ensure that children grow up in a society which enables them to flourish if they work hard enough.

Grade 1 pupils scored 68.1% for maths and the results consistently dropped all the way to 12.7% in Grade 9.

This means the performance of children entering school is acceptable – not excellent – and goes downhill from there.

The fact that more than 80% of children who are left with only three years of school cannot do maths in a developing country which desperately needs skilled labour to boost the economy, is something we all ought to be ashamed of.

It means our public schooling system is grooming 80% of our children for nothing more than unemployment queues and if they’re lucky, menial labour.

We are producing a nation of illiterate, unqualified, unemployable, angry young- sters who are hopelessly dependent on government grants and are easy pickings for criminal masterminds.

If the ANC is committed to honouring the legacy of its forefathers, it needs to admit that education is in crisis and needs an urgent overhaul.

Only qualified and dedicated teachers who understand the responsibility they have to our children must be in class. Those who are not performing need to be managed out of the system.

The government needs to honour its responsibility to ensure children have access to proper equipment and workbooks and are taught in proper classrooms.

With a huge chunk of our taxes allocated to education every year, money is not as big a problem as the corruption and utter carelessness displayed by those we have entrusted with the future of our children.

But the buck does not stop at the government’s door alone. The onus is also on parents to get involved in their children’s education by helping with homework, joining school governing bodies and insisting on better quality teaching. Parents and teachers need to inculcate a culture of diligence and hard work, where excellence is rewarded and mediocrity shunned. A 12.7% pass rate in Grade 9 maths and any score below 50% in any subject is totally unacceptable.