 |
|
The promotion of girls has paid off with a higher proportion of them receiving more distinctions
|
December 27, 2006, 18:15
In a few hours time, thousands of grade 12s will know their final exam results. While everyone is hoping for good results, experts are warning that a better overall pass rate means little if the quality of education does not improve across the board.
Last year the national pass rate dipped below the 70% mark. Naledi Pandor, the education minister, will officially release the results from Parliament tomorrow, and the top achievers will receive accolades.
While there has been an improvement at many schools, there are still those that consistently perform badly and these will be the ones that are closely watched. In 2005 almost 150 schools in the country had a pass rate below 20%.
“There will be a group of young people maybe as many as 30 or 35%, who are going to be desperately disappointed. And we know what the profile of those young people will be. They are likely to be poor… African, they're likely to be in the rural areas,” said Mary Metcalf, the Wits Education School head.
Intervention needed at lower grades
Metcalfe says the quality of teaching and learning in primary schools needs to improve so that the matric results can get the necessary boost. Research shows that pupils under-perform from as early as grade 3.
Metcalfe says the indicator of quality education is a healthy matric exemption rate.
Poverty and language issues are often raised as barriers to quality education.
This year, the focus will be on how this group of grade 12s performed in Maths, Science and the various languages.
SABC will provide results facility
Meanwhile individual matric results for all provinces, except the Western Cape will be available early tomorrow morning on the SABC's mobile news service, NewsBreak. Students can register now by calling NewsBreak on 082 152, choosing option 6 and following the voice prompts.
The students need to keep their exam and ID numbers handy to access their results.
Please note, Matric results in the Western Cape will only be released on the morning of Friday, December 29.
|
