Non-governmental organisation, Equal Education (EE), says disruptions to last year’s academic calendar has emphasised several inequality gaps in the sector.
This comes as Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, prepares to announce the 2020 matric results on Monday afternoon.
EE’s Head of Research, Hopolang Selebalo, outlines the challenges that the class of 2020 faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We wish the best of luck to the 2020 matric cohort. We can only imagine the amount of work that teachers and learners had to pull off last year and it was such an incredibly disruptive year that amplified the inequalities that exist in our education system. To top it all off, matriculants had to cover their entire curriculum. Whatever small strides we were making around the exams, with the pass rate, those small wins we were making will now be reversed with the disruptions that COVID has brought about.”
Below is the full interview with Selebalo:
Abnormal conditions
The Chair of the Department for Psychology of Education at the University of South Africa Prof. Ramodungoane Tabane says last year’s matric learners had to write under totally abnormal conditions.
He says the department need to support learners who did not pass.
Below is a focus on 2020 being a tough year for matriculants
Miracle
The South African Democratic Teacher’s Union (Sadtu) says It will be a miracle if they see a pass rate that is better than 2019.
Sadtu Spokesperson Nomusa Cembi says they commend teachers and learners who sacrificed their weekends to learn.
