Independent Newspapers

The number of matrics who qualified for university bachelor degrees increased significantly in the Western Cape in 2011. Photo: Chris Collingridge.

The 2010 matric pass rate of 67.8 percent, up from 60.6 percent in 2009, was welcomed yesterday, but the underlying picture shows that there are still too few scholars writing and passing maths and science. This hinders their chances to study further, find good employment, break the cycle of poverty and yield the sort of workforce sorely needed to make the economy more competitive.

Trade union Solidarity research shows that “the only qualification that offers better than average job prospects is a tertiary qualification. Matric by itself is not enough

.”

Last year 126 371 matriculants qualified for entry into a bachelor’s degree, up 15.2 percent from the 2009 figure. The proportion of matriculants who achieved an exemption improved by 3.6 percentage points to 23.5 percent.

Chris Klopper, the chief executive of the SA Teachers’ Union, said not all matriculants with exemptions would be accepted for tertiary study as universities would continue to conduct admission tests

.

Many matriculants intend to study further, but too few are writing the subjects required to qualify. In 2010 the pass rate in maths and physical science increased to 47.4 percent and 47.8 percent, respectively

.

According to the report on the National Senior Certificate Examinations, the maths pass rate is up by 1.4 percentage points and the science pass rate by 11 percentage points

, although the number of candidates who wrote these subjects declined dramatically.

Those who achieved a pass rate of 40 percent or more in maths – the pass rate required to be considered for university entrance – dropped from 85 356 candidates in 2009 to 81 374 candidates in 2010

.

Angie Motshekga, the Minister of Basic Education, said: “We are certainly not happy with the current number of passes in mathematics.”

The department would continue investing effort and resources to ensure that the pass rate, as well as the quality of mathematics, was significantly improved this year, she said

.

Doron Isaacs, co-ordinator for Equal Education, an organisation that campaigns for quality education, said yesterday that the overall improvement in the matric pass rate should be cautiously welcomed. However, the real question was what happened at schools in poor and rural communities.

Isaacs said an increasing number of young people’s chances in life were determined by their education. The economic wellbeing of a family often hinged on one person getting an education.

“The real tragedy of South Africa is that there is so much wasted talent. So many bright young people, but without skills and knowledge available to them. The odds are stacked against them,” Isaacs said.

Disparities in the school system are still widespread. According to a 2009 study by Social Surveys and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, official statistics show 50 percent of learners between the ages of 16 and 18 have to share textbooks and only 8 percent of schools have stocked libraries.

Due to a shortage of qualified teachers, inadequate salaries, a lack of support and incentives to attract teachers to poor communities such as Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, it was common for classes to seat 50 to 60 pupils.

Isaacs said it was for these reasons that the dropout rate was so high. Of the estimated 1.3 million children who started grade 1 in 1999, only 537 543 wrote matric last year.

For those who do not complete matric, the chance of being unemployed is high. Unemployment is at 25.3 percent, and of the 4.3 million people unemployed, 1.3 million are between 15 and 24 years old.

The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union said the efforts of teachers and pupils who participated in additional tuition at the time of the World Cup and the public service strike prevented a decline in pass rates

. The department is aiming for a 70 percent pass rate by 2014. - Samantha Enslin-Payne with additional reporting by Sapa