Transcript Slide 1

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Inequality and poor quality in
South African education
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What would you like to be when
you grow up?
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• Doctor
• Policeman

• Teacher
Lawyer
• President
• Astronaut
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‘(Still) just hewers of wood and drawers of
water?’
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Quantity vs Quality in educational achievement in
matric in the Western Cape
The Matric performance of the Province’s 352
public secondary schools can be thought of as
being like a three-layered cake.
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The 120 odd exCED schools are the thick icing on the achievement cake
here almost no-one fails Matric.
The 160 odd exHOR schools are the ‘filling in the middle’ with varying
achievement levels – around a quarter of the learners fail Matric. And in
key subjects, the ‘filling’ has collapsed into the base.
Mathematics & Physical Sciences
The 60-odd exDET schools represent a thick base of severe underachievement – around half the learners in these schools fail Matric.
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Under-achievement in mathematics and physical sciences is
now endemic in the majority of schools outside of the exCED
sector here in the Western Cape.
‘The opportunity index’
In 2008, in both exDET and
exHOR schools, the chances of
a learner achieving a 50%+ pass
in both mathematics and
physical sciences was around
1:30.
Compared to in an
exCED school, where a
learner’s chance was
1:5 (i.e. 6 times
greater).
Schooling in Khayelitsha
POPULATION
1991
329 000
2011
525 000?
STATE SCHOOLING:
29 Preprimary (pre-Grade R – R)
30 Primary (Grades R - 7)
5 Intermediate (Grades R – 9)
20 Secondary (Grades 8 – 12)
3 LSEN (‘Special Needs’)
Just under 56 000 learners were registered in Grades 1 12 in State educational institutions in Khayelitsha in
2011.
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Matric results: 2007 - 2010
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In 2010, the pass rate in
Khayelitsha stood at 50,3%; in the
Eastern Cape it stood at 58,3%.
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Schools with
pass rates
lower than
60%
2007
2008
2009
2010
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9
14
13
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In 2009, 1 245 students wrote maths literacy, and
¾ (75%) passed. However, what was the quality
of these passes?
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In 2009, only 22 candidates out of
the 1,245 who wrote maths
literacy scored 70% or higher...
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2009 matric results – just over 50%
pass rate
250 B (i.e. university
entrance) passes
8,5% of candidates
544 H
passes
20%
42%
38%
489 D
passes
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But in 2009…
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Only 26 out of 1,283
matriculants who
passed in Khayelitsha
obtained 50%+ passes
in both mathematics &
physical sciences
This is
1:50!
989
Grade 12 Maths & Physical Sciences candidates
Grade 12 Maths & Physical Sciences passes at
the 50% plus level
In 2009, 1 in 50 matriculants who
passed, passed both mathematics &
physical sciences at 50%+ level.
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One final thing…
This means that at the top-end of schooling, a student is likely
to get between 2-3 distinctions in matric; at the lower-end,
only a handful in each school achieve one or more distinctions
in matric.
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Verwoerd’s legacy…
Number
wrote
Number
passed
Subject
distinctions
1 exModel C
school
165
165
403
19 Khayelitsha
schools
3228
1624
44
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‘On the playing field of life there is nothing
more important than the quality of
education…’
President Zuma, 2011
“Quantity, quantity,
everywhere…. but not a
quality drop to drink!”
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