Experts divided on Grade 9 certificate plan

Experts within the vocational field were split after Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga presented the department’s intention to introduce the General Education Certificate (GEC) which would see pupils being formally allowed to leave school as early as Grade 9.

While the option would exist for pupils to gain skills as artisans, instead of completing matric, industry bodies doubt whether employers would be willing to give these early school leavers an opportunity to complete in-service training.

During her South African Democratic Teachers Union address last week, Motshekga announced that the department’s GEC plan was in response to thousands of pupils leaving school without any national qualifications to assist them in the labour market.

She said their plan proposed to send more pupils into technical education and introduced new subjects such as applied mathematics and applied science.

“The public discussion on the GEC certificate is not new as it took place earlier this year when it was first raised by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his Basic Education lekgotla in January and in his state of the nation address in February.”

She further clarified earlier this week that the certificate was not an exit option for pupils but rather pupils “will now have the option to pursue an academic pathway, technical vocational pathway, and even a technical occupational pathway”.

She added that the GEC would be an NQF registered qualification to be awarded at the end of the GET band (Grade 9).

The department plans to finalise the GEC plan by July 2020.

The Southern African Institute of Welding’s James Guild said the move by the department was not necessarily a bad one seeing that not everyone was cut out for university.

“I’m not advising that pupils leave school after Grade 9 but when you consider becoming a welder, iron coordination skills is more important (than more academic subjects).”

In full support of the presentation by the minister was Electrical Contractors’ Association national director, Mark Mfikoe, who said giving pupils the choice to pursue an academic, technical vocational and technical occupational pathway had always been available to pupils after the completion of Grade 9.

“The only difference now is that this new curriculum has the potential to prepare pupils and assist them in their exit.”

He said the best way to handle the pupils who decided to take the alternative route was to ensure workplace readiness, and the adoption of a dual system approach where pupils switch from classroom to workplace and back.

However, not convinced that they would be workplace ready at all is Institute for Plumbing SA national training manager Nick Jobert, who said that he did not believe GEC was the solution to the problem the department was trying to fix.

“My experience in the plumbing field is that those entering the field with a matric perform better than those who come after completing Grade 9,” he said.

He said when observing the total development of the individual after Grade 9, he found that on average the person was not workplace ready and would require more mentorship. He said this was something that employers considered and at the moment they struggled to get employers to absorb apprentices for this very reason.

Agreeing with him, Terrence Mwase of Master Builders South Africa business development and marketing said: “A major challenge faced by employers that offer workplaces as training grounds is the degree of emotional maturity of learners who exit the school system at this level. This extends to all trades. This will have to be addressed.”

– jenniffero@citizen.co.za

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