‘Weeding out weak matrics’

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Published Oct 16, 2015

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Cape Town - High school principals say education officials are putting them under pressure to “persuade” the parents of matric candidates who were pushed through to Grade 12, despite failing Grade 11, to deregister as full-time candidates for the final matric exams.

Teacher unions told the Cape Argus that some Western Cape principals had expressed concern that officials wanted them to motivate the parents of candidates who were progressed to Grade 12 and performing poorly this year to let the children register as part-time candidates and complete matric over more than one year.

Last month, the Cape Argus reported that the Council of Education Ministers had decided to allow pupils who had been progressed to Grade 12 but who were not coping - despite remedial attention - to “modulate their matric”.

At the time, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said those who had not performed well in the June and September trial exams would be offered the option to focus only on the subjects they are ready to write this year and focus on the remaining subjects next year to ensure that they get the support and content knowledge required to allow them to attain a matric certificate.

Jonavon Rustin, provincial secretary of the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union, said it had received reports of schools being pressurised to persuade parents to register their children as part-time candidates.

Rustin said one of the union’s concerns was that this was a means to weed out the weak candidates and artificially improve the matric results.

He said there were no clear plans about what would happen to these pupils.

“If they write only two subjects this year and have to go to private institutions next year it will cost their parents thousands of rand. If they stay in school, classes will be overcrowded,” Rustin said.

Morné Janson, provincial secretary of the SA Teachers’ Union, said the union had also received calls from some principals who said while officials had indicated that parents and pupils couldn’t be forced to take the option, the principals should try and motivate them to do so.

Moses Standaar, provincial chairman of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa, said while members had not reported this to the union, he was aware that some principals had had discussions with officials on the matter.

Jessica Shelver, spokeswoman for Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, said the department had invited pupils who progressed to Grade 12 this year to choose which subjects they wish to write, if they had performed very poorly during the year.

Almost 5 000 pupils will be given this option.

“The department has provided these learners with this option under no obligation, to enrol for two or three subjects during the October/November exams.

“They have the option to write the remainder of the subjects in 2016.”

In terms of national policy, pupils may progress to the next grade if they failed more than once during an education phase.

Grades 10 to 12, for example, make up the Further Education and Training phase.

“The candidates concerned are under no obligation to choose which subjects to write.

“They may write all their subjects if they wish to. They may wish to postpone writing exams for subjects they are likely to fail to December next year.”

She said the department would not deregister the candidates nor register them as private candidates. They would have the option of returning to school next year.

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Cape Argus

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