Matrics ‘will beat the odds’ - Mweli
Statistically, the record number of South African pupils writing matric this year means that the national pass rate should dip.
|||Durban - Statistically, the record number of South African pupils writing matric this year means that the national pass rate should dip.
But Basic Education Department Director-General Mathanzima Mweli said on Tuesday that he believed the class of 2015 would beat the odds.
Mweli was speaking at a meeting with journalists from around the country, at the department’s Pretoria headquarters.
This year, 624 232 matrics will sit the final exams, compared with 551 588 last year, and 511 259 in 2011.
Of the 624 232 pupils, 85 857 (12.7%) were placed in matric this year despite failing Grade 11 last year (as per the national progression policy).
“Statisticians tell you that the results should take a dip. But we have beat the odds before,” Mweli said.
Asked how many pupils who were pushed through into matric last year had passed, the department’s head of exams and assessment, Rufus Poliah, said reliable figures were not available.
Mweli said he was confident the class of 2015 would surpass expectations because teachers and pupils had worked exceptionally hard.
In most provinces there had been extra lessons.
Turning to matric exam markers and concerns over their competency (in the absence of competency tests in all provinces but the Western Cape), Poliah said this year the national department had audited the credentials of all 49 900 matric exam markers in the country.
All 49 900 were required to have at least two years of teaching experience in the relevant subject, to have studied that subject at the second-year level (diploma or degree), and for the pupils of teachers working as matric markers to have performed at an average of at least 50%.
As The Mercury has reported previously, there is a high repetition rate for grades 10 and 11, and various research reports point to this as being the reason why roughly only half of all children make it from Grade 1 to matric.
In introducing the progression policy, the department had argued that, in other countries, such policies had the support of education economists because money “wasted” on grade repetition could be spent on helping pupils pass the grade they were pushed into.
Matric 2015 by numbers (national)
- 674 232 full time candidates
- 127 456 part time candidates
- 258 subject questions papers
- 10.7 million printed questions papers
- 6 797 exam centres
- 69 000 invigilators
- 49 900 exam script markers
- 121 marking centres
- Pupils writing maths 273 348
- Pupils writing maths literacy 400 794
The Mercury
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