The recent 2011 National release of the full-time public Grade 12 results was well received by the nation. According to the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, last year's results were 70, 2% and showed an improvement of 2, 4%.
Although as a country we have to celebrate this sustained improvement in our Grade 12 results, there seems to be a gloomy picture behind these promising numbers. Nationally the total number of full-time Grade 12 learners that enrolled was 511038 in 2011. Out of that total enrolment the total number of full-time students did not write the examination. A question has to be asked as to what happened to these candidates. Besides those who have disappeared due to natural attrition, answers should be provided as to the whereabouts of the others.
The other disturbing trend that should be of great concern is the sustained decline in the total number of full-time candidates who sit for the examinations. According to the Report on the National Senior Certificate Examination 2011, from 2009 to 2010 the total number of full-time candidates who wrote decreased by 3, 8% from 580937 to 558980. The decline from 2010 to 2011 was more pronounced as the total number of full-time candidates who wrote fell by a whopping 8, 6% from 558980 to 511038.
On the other hand the total number of part-time learners has been showing some tremendous increase over the same period. From 2009 to 2010 the number of part-time learners swelled by a massive 110% from 39255 to 82553 in those years respectively. The increase can also be observed from figures of 2010 and 2011 as the number of part-timers rose by 37% from 82553 to 112780 over the period.
There is a growing perception out there that an increasing number of schools, in an effort to boost their pass rates, register some of their Grade 12 learners as part-time candidates. This practice is believed to have been pioneered by the former Model C schools. Currently a significant number of township schools seem to have followed suit, hence the sudden dwindling in the number of full-time learners since 2009.
This trend has been indirectly encouraged by the education authorities who usually emphasize the increase in pass rates at the expense of quality. In an attempt to boost their schools' pass rates principals reduce the number of their Grade 12 students by either retaining some of their average learners in Grade 11 or registering some of the Grade 12 students as part-time candidates. This scenario is evident in last year's results as the number of students who wrote the exams in all provinces declined from that of 2010 with the exception of Eastern Cape.
The scenario as depicted above does not bode well for the legitimacy of these results. One is left wondering what would have happened to the results had the number of full-time candidates been relatively constant throughout the years.
Although the country should celebrate the marginal improvement in the overall results, it would be a mistake if we get puffed-up in the process. A lot is hidden rather than revealed in these numbers.
Mr. Dumisani Hompashe
Website: http://www.dumisanihompashe.org
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