Grade 9 learners across the country will soon be making the exciting and, for some, the daunting task of picking their subjects to pursue in the next three years, which they will be tested on in their final exams.
The Department of Education announced in 2018 that they will be removing the designated subject list designed for learners who want to pursue a degree, the aim was to give learners more subject variety going forward.
Education expert, Dr Gillian Mooney, dean of academic development and support at The Independent Institute of Education, said the learners’ decision can be life-changing, “It’s a tough task for teenagers to make a commitment now which will affect their ability to gain access to higher education and potentially their qualification of choice in four years’ time, when many are not even yet sure what they want to study after school.”
Mooney explained that Grade 9 learners are required to choose at least seven subjects, four are compulsory, home language, second language, maths or math literacy, and life orientation.
She had a tip for learners deciding which subjects to choose, “Your subject choice must enable you to demonstrate proficiency in critical thinking and numeracy, and particularly important is the choice between maths and maths literacy, as many university courses still require core maths.”
Choosing relatively easy subjects will not help a learner, particularly, if they are looking at achieving high marks in their matric year. It is a short-term success, a subject choice should help develop your skills such as accounting, physical science or history, Mooney advised.
However, it has been said that learners’ subject choices should reflect their interests and in which fields of work they see themselves in the future.
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Grade 9 subject choices: Advice in the face of withdrawal of subject list
