Lusanda Bill
25
November 2014
The National Professional Teachers
Organisation said it is necessary to increase the pass requirements at school
but the way it has been done has disadvantaged pupils.
This follows the Department of Basic
Education on Monday stating that the as from this year schools will adjust
their exams scores for pupils in Grade 7, 8 and 9.
The organisations Basil Manuel said the
change was too soon. Schools who are setting their exams at a particular level
find that more than 50% of the children are failing. However they are not
failing because they don’t know the work but because the pass requirements have
changed and they are required to know much more.
Manuel said this increase in pass
requirement must be done in batches and not in one go because it will not turn
out good for the pupils.
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance said it
believes that increasing the pass requirements needs proper support for
teachers and students.
DA MP of Basic Education Annette Lovemore
said merely increasing pass requirements cannot increase the quality of
education.
Lovemore said the Minister of Basic
Education Angie Motshekga is now having to intervene and allow schools to
adjust their marks so that they do not have a high failure rate. The effective
is the pass marks will be exactly the same as they were previously.
“What the Minister has to do is to go back
to basic, she has to make sure that our children can read, write, understand
what they read and apply what they read before she can look at sophisticated
solutions like increasing the pass mark that can come, but reading and writing
must come first” Lovemore added.
