Earlier this month, Build One South Africa (BOSA) founder, Mmusi Maimane, criticised the state of Basic Education in the country and had called for the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, to increase the matric pass mark.
The change would see the pass mark go from 30% to 50%.
Maimane stated that the current pass park sets South Africa's learners up for unemployment in the future.
Youth unemployment is one of the many issues plaguing South Africa's future, and only seems to get worse, despite the launching of various government initiatives and collaborations.
Not only does Maimane want the quality of education to improve, but also the dedication of learners, particularly in crucial subjects such as Science, Technology, Mathematics and English; the number should improve progressively as we head into a digital and technological era.
Maimane created a petition that is vastly making the rounds; it's initial goal of 1,500 signatures had been reached within hours of its launch. More than 3,400 people have signed the petition since then.
"At the moment I think a lot of this misinformation about the 50% pass rate is really politically driven. It's about mobilising people to say, oh, '50%? Clearly that doesn't make sense", said Professor Mary Metcalfe of the University of Johannesburg.
The professor continues, saying that passing matric is not as simple as a 50%.
"This exam [the National Senior Certificate Exam] has to accommodate all learners, not just those that are going to university. And the categories of pass, are not just for matriculation; in fact we don't use the word matric in education anymore, because matric had the connotation of the matriculation exams to go to university," explained Metcalfe.
According to the Professor, not all learners are aiming for university and the pass category that they land in once the results are out determines that. "There are four categories of pass to accommodate the categories of learners and their performance. There's no such thing, within any of those passes, that says you don't have to get 50," said Metcalfe.
Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, issued a response to Maimane's calls just before the release of the 2022 matric results, stating that it's all about context.
According to the Minister, the overall pass rate is not 30%; instead it is 40% for a home language, 50% for four other subjects and 30% for one subject.
Usually, the pass rate has only been lowered, but Maimane feels the bar needs to be raised in order to benefit South Africa's learners, the quality of education they are receiving, as well as the economy; which he feels is not happening with the pass rate that is currently in place.
