Minister of Education taken to task over Maths pass mark
The DA is questioning the rationale of passing learners who achieve 20 per cent in mathematics
THE Democratic Alliance (DA) has questions for the Minister of Education following the announcement that public schools have been instructed by the Department of Basic Education to pass all Grade 7 to 9 pupils who have obtained 20 per cent in mathematics.
According to Mbali Ntuli, Member of Provincial Legislature KZN, the Minister decided unilaterally to change the pass rate and issue the special condonation.
“It was done without any consultation, so everybody affected is quite in the dark about it. The DA has sent the minister questions to answer urgently,” she said.
She said in particular, the DA wanted to know why such a ‘special condonation’ for mathematics was deemed necessary, how many Grade 7, 8 and 9 learners fall between the 20 per cent and 40 per cent mathematics mark, whether any consultation took place before the directive was issued, whether this ‘special condonation’ is a temporary or permanent alteration to the pass requirements and why the Minister waited until the very end of the school year to adjust the pass requirements.
“It is common cause that far too few learners emerge from school, numerate enough to compete in global knowledge economy. Instead of giving learners a free pass, we should be equipping learners to succeed in mathematics. It was a bizarre move and the provinces, school governing bodies and unions were all not consulted,” said Ntuli.
The announcement was made this week in a move which the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union has described as scandalous.
According to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), Grade 7 to 9 pupils who pass all subjects and languages but fail maths by obtaining less than 40 per cent should be retained.
In the circular sent to districts and schools last week, the department said it had come to its attention that the current set of promotion requirements as set out in CAPS may impact negatively on a high number of learners in the Grade 7 to 9 phase, and in light of this, the special condonation dispensation has been approved to accommodate learners whose promotion to the next grade level may be adversely affected by the compulsory requirement of passing mathematics at 40 per cent.
It spelt out clearly that where a Grade 7, 8 or 9 learner met requirements, but had not achieved 40 per cent in maths, the learner must be condoned provided they attain a minimum of 20 per cent in the subject.
