29 September 2019
A suggestion by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga that pupils struggling to get to matric be given a General Education Certificate (GEC), an equivalent to grade 9, caused opprobrium and consternation with parents decrying the lowering of standards.
“The GEC at the end of grade 9 acknowledges a broad foundation of knowledge and skills as a basis for further learning and study, which could happen in a range of further education institutions,” said Motshekga.
Most parents felt that instead of coming up with solutions to under-performing schools, the department was deflecting attention and, in this way, condemning their children to lives of perpetual poverty. And don’t we all think that our bundles of joy are, without exception, capable of the highest excellence in academic fields? All they need are good teachers and a flawless system of education.
The truth, though, is that many pupils leave school long before matric – even without this certificate – and line our streets looking for those jobs colloquially referred to as “nomayini” – any job.
It is true our education system has many flaws. Many of our teachers are under-qualified. Many schools are reduced to mini-war zones. These challenges must be resolved. Yet research has long found that not all pupils have the same academic inclination, with some excelling more at practical vocations than others. Our discourse ought rightly to be focused on how we prepare both types of pupils for a more fulfilling and meaningful life after school. Instead of the indignation and howls levelled at Motshekga, we must ask why pupils who leave matric with passes are fewer than half of the 1.2-million who start school each year.
The annual stampede at our universities can only be eliminated when all of society understands that our economy needs a wide range of skills, some of which do not require one to go through the rigors of matric.
Stop killings and fix local government
In the paper today, we report on the spectre of political killings that have seemingly spilled over into Limpopo, particularly at local government level.
Over the last few months, several ANC leaders have been killed, ostensibly for criticising the looting that collapsed the VBS Mutual Bank, robbing the poor of millions of rand intended for service delivery.
In the same token, we also give you the account of a report on the state of local government that was delivered by Minister in the Presidency Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and her colleague, Phumulo Masualle, the Public Enterprises Deputy Minister, to the ANC national executive committee this week.
They painted a horrific picture of a free-for-all situation, where ANC leaders are stealing public money with impunity and some operate criminal networks.
By all accounts, local government – which is at the coalface of service delivery – is in a deep crisis and if decisive action is not taken, more blood will spill.
