Principals with pass rates of less than 60 percent are to be replaced, some by the time schools reopen.
|||Principals at underperforming schools – those with pass rates of less than 60 percent – are to be replaced, some by the time schools reopen on Wednesday.
While the number of underperforming schools has more than halved, the Western Cape Education Department is on a mission to cut the number of these schools by ensuring that management is up to scratch.
There are 30 underperforming schools in the province. In 2010, there were 78.
Penny Vinjevold, head of provincial education, said two things vital to turning schools around were the subjects pupils chose and the school’s management.
She said measures had been put in place to help pupils with tough ago wrote matric last year.
“Therefore nearly half dropped out of school along the way. Thus, the pass rate of 70.2 percent, when measured against all those who began school in 2000, reveals a true pass rate of approximately 38 percent. This is an improvement on 2010 but still a sobering statistic.”
The 2011 Western Cape matrics were able to significantly increase their pass rate in maths and science to achieve an overall pass rate of 68.7 percent and 65.3 percent respectively. Nationally only the science results improved to 53.4 percent while maths decreased by 2.1 percentage points to 45.3 percent.
Equal Education was also concerned about the number of pupils who were able to pass the maths exam. “When one considers that mathematics is a crucial skill and gateway to science, medicine, commerce, engineering and many other vital parts of the economy, this trend is extremely worrying. Maths literacy, while useful, is not a substitute.” The organisation pointed out that the ongoing decrease in maths candidates correlated with the increase in the overall pass rate.
“Simply put, less students writing mathematics and more students writing maths literacy will correspond to an improving overall matric pass rate. Such an increase is artificial.”
Neren Rau, the chief executive of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said it was questionable whether the quality of the education received at public schools was creating employable school-leavers.
“A matriculant entering the job market in 2012 will be challenged by both the low number of opportunities available, as a consequence of the current economic circumstances, and by concerns about the level of investment required to ensure that candidates will be able to contribute effectively to organisations.” - Cape Times
E-mail Michelle: michelle.jones@inl.co.za