The leader of the Build One South Africa (BOSA), Dr Mmusi Maimane introduced a debate in the National Assembly recently on the value of South Africa's 30% matric pass mark. Arguing against what he termed a disastrous policy, Mr Maimane suggested that the 30% threshold perpetuates low standards and expectations and has long-lasting adverse effects on the futures and cognitive abilities of learners.
BOSA has launched a public petition that has over 20,000 signatures, demanding the abolition of the 30% pass mark, highlighting public dissatisfaction with a system that compromises learners' futures and perpetuates low standards, Dr Maimane said. On the day of the debate, BOSA handed the signed petition to the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Sivuwe Gwarube.
Dr Maimane suggested that the Minister has the means and the opportunity to chart a new path for education. "We demand transparency and real solutions, not ANC platitudes," he said. This transformative agenda should include the establishment of an independent education ombudsman, better salaries for educators, the introduction of a school voucher programme and a nationwide audit of teacher skills. As things stand at present, only 47% of learners achieved a bachelor's pass and fewer than 15% of these enrol in university education.
He also asked for more information on the average marks in the NSC examinations over the past five years in maths, maths literacy, physical science, economics and accounting and what the department is doing to improve these marks.
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Participating in the debate, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Mr Tebogo Letsie, suggested that improving South Africa's education system is the collective responsibility of all its citizens, due to the role it plays in challenging our colonial past and breaking the chains of poverty, reducing inequality and expanding opportunities for all.
He admitted that the state will not increase public confidence in the education system without being honest about its performance. One aspect of this trust-building is dispelling the misleading narrative about the NSC pass rate, he suggested. "Let it be stated unambiguously that 30% is not the pass mark of our curriculum. There are established subject specific thresholds and promotional criteria that must be satisfied. And an aggregate of 30% falls far short of these standards," he emphasised.
He went on to enumerate his view of the the NSC pass rate requirements. "For a bachelor pass, a candidate must attain at least 40% and if the candidate fails his/her home language, he/she won't achieve the bachelor pass mark. Also, the candidate must attain 50% on other subjects and at least 30% of the other subject." He further claimed that the country takes pride in the fact that the NSC is benchmarked against international standards.
Mr Sihle Ngubane of the Umkhonto weSizwe Party contradicted him, saying the pass rate of some subjects is 30% and 40% for others. Arguing that this low pass rate compromises the standard of South African education and global competitiveness, he remarked that South Africa chooses not to compete in global maths and science-related subjects, passing up an opportunity to compete against the world's best.
Also participating in the debate, Ms Gwarube explained that to pass the NSC a learner must pass a three-tier set of subject requirements: 40% in a home language, 40% in a further two subjects and 30% in another three additional subjects. She also stated that higher percentage thresholds apply in obtaining bachelor or diploma passes. This structure is of long-standing and is internationally aligned with other systems, reflecting the NSC's nature as a multisubject qualification system rather than a single exam system.
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Most importantly, she pointed, the minimum threshold often spoken about is not the norm. "Out of the 724 00 000 learners who wrote the NSC last year, only 189 passed with this minimum subject combination. She further protested that to claim that learners pass matric with 30% is not supported by evidence and is a distortion of how NSC works. This must be corrected to ensure that the debate about our education standards rests on facts rather than political rhetoric, she explained.
Mr Mandla Shikwambana of the Economic Freedom Fighters argued that the threshold is inadequate for a generation competing in a knowledge-based economy. That view was shared by Ms Busaphi Machi of the Inkatha Freedom Party, who also said that a learner who achieves a 30% pass rate is not ready for the demands of higher education or the modern workforce. "We can't continue pretending otherwise," she concluded.
Abel Mputing
