Department of Education sets record straight regarding maths pass mark

THE Department of Basic Education has set the record straight regarding what it says are inaccurate media reports about its decision to condone learners who do not meet the requisite mathematics requirements for progression to the next grade in the senior phase.

Speaking on behalf of the department, Elijah Mhlanga said there was no such thing as a 20 per cent pass mark for mathematics and there had been no change in the progression policy to reflect such.

“The continued media reports to this effect are therefore unfortunate and indeed misleading,” he said.

Mhlanga said that people who are familiar with the South African education system will recall that in the past, if a learner failed a language they would fail the year.

“You could fail mathematics and still pass the year if you passed your languages with above 40 per cent and all your other subjects. After the introduction of the new curriculum (CAPS) in 2014, the requirements changed. The DBE raised the bar in terms of the pass criteria. In addition to passing your two language subjects you have to pass one of them i.e. home language at minimum 50 per cent and you have to pass mathematics at minimum 40 per cent.”

“In essence, what the policy states is that even if you pass all your other subjects with distinctions, but got less than 40 per cent for mathematics you failed the year,” he said.

Mhlanga said it was evident not everyone was mathematically inclined, with some people are more inclined towards the arts and others better with technical subjects, making this policy unfair to those who were forced to take mathematics but were not good at it. He said the choice to do mathematics or mathematics literacy was available in the Grade 10 level, meaning it was compulsory for learners who are in Grade 7, 8, and 9 to do pure mathematics.

“Taking note of concerns around the suitability of the policy that were raised with the DBE by principals and Provincial Education Departments, the DBE decided to take the policy under review. The concern was that learners who could go to the next grade based on meeting all other pass criteria, were being held back in the grade unnecessarily. It has been shown that grade repetition can lead to increased school dropout, increased truancy and a number of other adverse effects.”

“While the policy is under review, a decision was taken to condone those who passed all the subjects except that they did not meet the 40 per cent criteria in mathematics to the next grade. That is if they met all other pass requirements and obtained more than 20 per cent in mathematics,” he said.

He said this decision is only applicable to senior phase learners and only applicable for the 2016 cohort of learners during this point of policy review.