Amidst the chaos that has been 2020, we received some more bad news. South African students are the worst at science. In the whole world. And they are the second worst in mathematics.
Yes, this is a bugbear of mine. I go on about how education is failing in this country. I’ve written about how badly South Africa is floundering in education before. We have seen how the fact that our grade 4’s cannot read for understanding means we have lost an entire generation of students. Possibly two. Freedom was 26 years ago, after all. But it’s all I can do to try and raise awareness.
But the Government knows!
However, the thing is… we ARE aware! We have seen these results in various surveys over the last ten years. We know this. The powers that be know this. They always release a statement expressing their concern for the results. They talk about the need to address these problems.
And then they go quiet. And we hear about how our matric pass rate has improved. And we hear next to nothing about the problems. Until the next international survey or study that shows that we are moving backwards.
So this proves to be little more than a rant. But maybe, just maybe, it will spark something in someone somewhere who can make a change.
A teacher sheds light on the inanity that is our education department
Chatting to a retired teacher shed some light on why our education system is not going forward. Mrs B mentioned how she had to attend compulsory training for a new curriculum developed for Maths at the Foundation Level. She found that while it was overly heavy on assessment, it was a good curriculum. It could work and covered the basics well. This would set up the students for success in their maths throughout school.
She went on all the training. All the material had been professionally printed and distributed. The curriculum and contents were deployed and the training was satisfactory.
Mrs B made the comment that one of the things that worked so well was that the content was good. Really good. Even an inexperienced teacher could teach it. Even a subpar teacher working through the contents would produce children who could do their sums. Even a bored, disinterested teacher just had to work through the material. It was a good curriculum.
Now, Mrs B. taught at a government school since the ‘70’s. Her opinion on such matters is an informed opinion and should be taken seriously. This was a good curriculum. It had taken time to develop and lots of money to implement. It was worth it, and the government had produced an effective curriculum for mathematics.
It was used for one year, and then abandoned. One year.
Without a vision, our students are perishing
Our students need better. I am not saying anything here that isn’t said when we see the results of international surveys. We cannot afford the time or money to be wasted like this.
Awareness is good and necessary. But we need leaders that will keep their eye on the goal. When the government produces something good, it needs to be implemented. Chopping and changing is one of the reasons that we are regressing.
It is not good enough. Making matters worse, this pandemic will have long-lasting, catastrophic impact on education in South Africa. Now more than ever, we need clear, competent leadership to commit to the goal of improving our educational results.
Some sad Further reading/bibliography:
You can get details on South Africa’s poor performance here:
Very briefly on the pandemic’s impact on South African Education:
https://japari.co.za/impact-of-lockdown-on-education/
For more about the way forward, and how South Africa is not moving in that direction:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35427853
https://mg.co.za/article/2010-07-02-sa-learners-too-old-for-school/
The importance of Foundation Phase:
