Build One SA (Bosa) has called for the resignation of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, citing an alarming decline in education standards nationwide.
The call comes on the heels of the pronouncement by national quality assurer Umalusi, concluding the matric 2023 examinations and shedding light on the challenges faced by the Department of Education during the exam period.
While Umalusi has tackled issues like learner cheating, exam printing errors, and translation inconsistencies, Bosa argues that a significant concern has been overlooked – the persistent deterioration of basic education standards under Motshekga’s leadership.
The party expressed concern about the alarming statistics regarding literacy rates and academic performance among students.
Reading for meaning
“Today, eight out of every 10 children in South Africa cannot read for meaning by the age of 10,” said Bosa spokesperson Roger Solomons.
“According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, 78% of grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning.
“The Department of Basic Education’s own diagnostics report shows that the overwhelming majority of students who take crucial subjects in matric attain less than 50% in those subjects.”
Solomons explained further: “The report’s data shows that over the past six-year period [2015-2020], a concerningly small percentage of students who wrote the matric exams achieved 50% or higher in crucial subjects.
“These are mathematics [21.3%]; physical science [27.1%]; accounting [28.8%]; life sciences [29.6%]; economics [20.7%], and business studies at 28.4%.
Increasing rate of dropouts
Bosa is also concerned about the rising rate of dropouts, asserting that the government’s failure to effectively tackle these issues worsens societal inequalities and poses a threat to the prospects of young people.
Said Solomons: “These results affect the market, they affect the unemployment crisis. It is a common cause that levels of education impact one’s employment prospects.
“According to the past four Quarterly Labour Force Surveys, the highest percentages of unemployment are observed in sections of the labour force with less than a school-leaving matric certificate at 39.1%.
“Minister Motshekga manages one of the largest budgets in the country of R280-billion and this is significantly more than neighbouring countries spend.
“We are not getting value for money. Her rank failure cannot continue any longer. We call for her immediate resignation and replacement with someone who believes in the talent of our youth, and who does the work to make this country globally competitive.”
