Thoughts on Different Societal Issues

In my previous post I pointed out the dire state which South Africa's basic education sector currently sits with. At the root of the problem is a crisis of leadership, part of which can be traced back to the poor education and dedication amongst those tasked with moulding and shaping policies, implementation (education officers, teachers, principals etc) and also monitoring and evaluation of interventions. Recently I had a 'Facebook conversation' with a friend who highlighted it would not be fair to expect a disadvantaged learner with no proper resources, being taught by a non-degreed teacher etc to be subjected to the same minimum 50% pass mark. I differed with her perspective because that is exactly where we are getting things wrong as a country. The state of an individual or society can not be improved by subjecting/exposing them to a low standard. A high standard pushes people to go beyond their normal capacities and tap into hidden potential. There are some interve...

Recently the Minister of Basic Education announced her department was seeking public commentary about the planned changing of the matric maths pass mark from 30% to 50%. I personally don't understand why there is need for public consultation on the matter. I reckon it should have been a matter of the Ministry coming out saying, "we are going to change..." rather than "should we change..." and then seeking public comments. In case you have never thought of it this way, a 30% 'pass' mark actually means the person doesn't know 70% of the content of the subject matter. My opinion is that the minimum pass mark should be 50% across the board- i.e. all subjects and not just Maths. Last year's overall matric pass rate was 73.9%...based on the 30%  pass mark criteria for the different subjects. The pass rate masks the true dire state of the basic education sector and paints a picture of things being rosy. Analysis of the bachelor passes (learners...