Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced that 70.7% of students who wrote the 2015 National Senior Certificate examinations passed.<\/p>\n
Many people stated\u00a0that the matric pass rate should not be celebrated, though, as it represents a watered-down qualification which is not respected in the workplace.<\/p>\n
Equal Education highlighted<\/strong><\/a> that a large percentage of students also drop out before they write the matric exams.<\/p>\n The organization said the\u00a0cohort matric pass rate \u2013 the percentage of learners in grade 2 who pass matric 11 years later \u2013 is\u00a042.2%.<\/p>\n Another critic of the current matric examinations is University of the Free State vice-chancellor Jonathan Jansen.<\/p>\n In a recent Sunday Times column, he said South Africa\u2019s disregard for competence is illustrated by the way government policies have dumbed down the\u00a0school system since the 1990s.<\/p>\n \u201cWe created a watered-down mathematics stream for those who, we were told, could not do maths,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe gave legitimacy (and a university-entrance point) to life orientation when, in the past, guidance (or the lack thereof) had no consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n He said passing levels in school subjects are pegged at 30% and 40%, and that we created an exit level at Grade 9 because more than half the children who start Grade 1 do not make it past matric.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to add marks to the grades of non-native speakers writing in English. More than one study has pointed to the inflation of grades, no doubt to make the national pass percentage look good.\u201d<\/p>\n Jansen provided 10 ways to improve the South African education system in a Facebook post titled: Ten things I would do first if I were your Minister of Schools<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Real matric pass rate in South Africa is 43.7%<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Matric pass rate drops to 70.7%<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s real matric pass rate is shocking<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s education crisis enough to make you weep<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nSouth Africa has a dumbed down school system<\/h3>\n
How to improve the education system<\/h3>\n
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More on education<\/h3>\n