56.6% of 460 828 black matric candidates passed - how to raise the bar [suggestions]

SHOOT: I believe the reason for these poor results are basically 3 fold, and I say this based on teaching at high school level in South Africa and abroad. I also think all three of these suggestions will probably met with scorn and contempt, but here goes:

1. The level of ordinary classroom discipline is shockingly bad, meaning students can't even hear the teacher speak/teach, [those who make an effort in any event], and the power in the classroom has shifted to learners and parents, and away from teachers, which results in a lack of control in many cases. Teachers suffer from lack of motivation and feelings of helplessness.

Reintroduce corporal punishment?

2. Lack of accountability for results/misbehaviour. There is an emphasis, which is partially a result of the above [lack of discipline] which encourages teachers to pass students and get them through the school system. Cheating is also common [again, lack of discipline]. Much of this appears to flow from a cultural mindset of corrupt leaders, gangster hip [King of bling is hero] etc.

Changing the cultural mindset is difficult, and requires the buy in of media, leaders and the reintroduction of honesty and honour in ordinary communities.

3. Many learners often have to learn in their second or third language, and could do with extra language tuition. In the cases of white teachers with black learners learning names can take a long time, and as in Korea, it may help both parties to provide simpler, easier to remember English names.

clipped from www.thetimes.co.za The statistics confirm what everyone knows, but they look grim in black and white: Barely half of South Africa’s black schoolchildren passed matric last year, while nearly every white pupil who wrote the exam sailed through. The damning figures were published by the minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, in response to a question from the Democratic Alliance. The Eastern Cape fared worst with only 45% of black candidates passing matric at any level. Limpopo, with a black pass rate of 49.3% was the other province to fail more than half the cohort. The figures, which were published without any comment from Motshekga, underline the handicap facing black children trying to break out of the cycle of poverty and the challenge facing the department of education. The figures show that in the Eastern Cape, 52 998 black pupils wrote matric and 28 878 failed, while only 33 of 3 130 white pupils who wrote the exam failed.