Every year an average of 300 000 learners leave school before reaching matric. Rather than waiting for young people to become disengaged, there are easy ways we can set them up for success
matric
Posted inEquality, Health, Lifestyle
What parents can do to make up for gaps in our basic education?
By Lehlohonolo Mofokeng Here is a reality many of us do not want to talk about: our basic education encourages surface learning than deep learning. One of the reasons I encourage my learners to enter for Accounting Olympiads is to show them that our content is weak; by consequence, disadvantages them when they enrol at […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Congrats Malema, you have made us proud
By Zukiswa Mqolomba Firstly, I would like to congratulate the honourable Julius Malema for having graduated with his first degree in communications and African studies from the University of South Africa. Secondly, I’d like to congratulate him for being accepted for his first postgraduate degree, an honours in philosophy. These are inspiring achievements that should […]
Posted inGeneral
Why your grade 11 results are important
By Lehlohonolo Mofokeng When I was in high school I seldom thought about the significance of my grade 11 results for life after school. Many students think grade 12 is the most important but nothing could be further from the truth. These days you stand little chance of landing a good job or starting a […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Excellence in education should be part of our daily discourse
By Busani Ngcaweni All the learners who passed their grade 12 examinations in 2014 should be applauded without reservation. The scores who were unsuccessful should be encouraged by Confucius who, centuries before the birth of Christ, correctly pointed out that “our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising each time we fall”. […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Teacher, don’t leave those kids alone
I watched the basic education minister, Angie Motshekga, deliver the matric results on eNews yesterday afternoon. It was not pretty. Neither were the results impressive. And the minister’s speech was awful. There were times when she lost me completely, most of all when it came to the actual provincial results. Or was that the district […]
Posted inNews/Politics
School drop-out rate still too high
As expected the 2013 matric results have unleashed deserved pride and joy about the performance of the class of 2002. Various analysts have also provided very informative analysis in order to have a deeper appreciation of how well the system has been working over the past 12 years. The 2013 results are simply an outcome […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A black matric certificate is still worth nothing in SA
By Siphiwe Sithole I must congratulate the class of 2013 for achieving what is said to be the highest pass rate of 78.2% since 1994 in South Africa. It is always exciting to watch newly matriculated youths get into the real world, some get jobs, others further their studies while others journey to find themselves […]
Posted inGeneral
South Africa’s culture of mediocrity
South Africa’s primary and secondary education system is breeding a culture of mediocrity and entitlement that will ultimately undermine the growth of the country, both socially and economically. This culture of entitlement is not simply limited to the education system however, but has been surreptitiously reappropriated by our rights-based discourse so that it has become […]
Posted inGeneral
Maths vs. Maths Literacy: the continuing debate
By Robyn Clark With the Matric results being published last week, a long-running debate has again reared its head. Is Maths Literacy all that worthwhile? After all, many are opposed to it because it’s “dumbing down our students”. Is the Maths taught today the same as the Maths that you learnt at school? Firstly, I […]
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Placing indigenous knowledge games at the centre of our education strategy
We are a society engaging in “an anthropology of low expectations” with the bar we set for being awarded a National Senior Certificate (NSC). (Eusebius McKaiser, 2012). South Africa’s matric pass rate was up from 67.8% in 2010 to 70.2% in 2011. To obtain a matric pass in South Africa, a pupil must achieve 40% […]
Posted inNews/Politics
An open letter to Angie Motshekga
Dear Madam I know that you are a busy person and this period in particular is the most hectic with centenary celebrations in full swing. I would like to congratulate you and your department, together with nine MECs and the respective departments in various provinces. Let me rather skip the pleasantries and get to the […]