Dept of education proposes Grade 9 exit plan
Following an evaluation of the National Senior Certificate, the Department of Education has proposed to offer school-leavers a Grade 9 certificate.
THE Department of Basic Education has recently proposed to offer pupils an alternative exit certificate.
Pupils with learning or finanical difficulties would be able to leave school with a General Education and Training Certificate (GETC), as opposed to completing the traditional Grade 12 certificate.
With the GETC they would be able to apply for additional training and education at Technical Vocational Education and Training College.
According to Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, the aim of the new certificate is to address unemployment and the skills shortages in the country.
The proposed changes to the South African schooling system follow an evaluation of the National Senior Certificate’s credibility, which revealed that an alarming rate of Grade 10, 11 and 12 pupils dropped out of school.
As it stands, pupils who have or plan to leave school without a matric certificate do not have credible documents to use as proof of their education or skills.
Roshni Moonsamy, the principal of Northlands Girls’ High School, was in full support of the proposal, saying, “Essentially the Grade 9 exit certificate will be a good idea to address unemployment and the skills shortage in the country, provided that the pupil has attained an adequate numeracy and literacy skill level by the time they intend to leave school and that a credible, standardised exit exam is in place,” she said.
However, Moonsamy expressed concern as she believes the alternative exit certificate could add to the existing high ratio of unemployment if a system was not implemented to facilitate a proper migration to the trade and vocational systems.
