Improvement in matric results requires good foundation phase education: expert
Education expert, Professor Sarah Gravett from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) says to improve matric results, South Africa needs to ensure that there is very good education in the foundation phase.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) announced on Tuesday that the 2019 national matric pass rate has risen to 81.3%, the highest past rate in the last 25 years.
The results have improved by 3.9% from 2018.
The Free State province hit the top with a pass rate of 88.4% - a 0.9% improvement from the previous year.
Gauteng claimed the second spot with 87.2%, followed by the North West 86.8%, Western Cape with 82.3%, KwaZulu-Natal at 81.3%, Mpumalanga with 80.3%, Northern Cape at 76.5%, Eastern Cape at 76.5% and Limpopo with 73.2%.
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Gravett says it is pleasing to see improvement in the rural provinces, such as KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo, which have struggled in the past.
"What we are still worried about is the gateway subjects, particularly mathematics, science and accounting,” says Gravett.
“The important point is that one cannot have intervention in these areas only in high school or in matric, even though the interventions do make a difference. We need to start from the bottom and ensure we have very good education in the foundation and intermediate phase," she said.
Listen to Gravett below:
Ahead of the announcement of results on Tuesday, the DBE’s director-general (DG), Mathanzima Mweli gave a technical briefing on the results.
He said although the physical science pass rate has improved slightly, there's a lot of work to be done.
"Other goals are improving the participation of mathematics and physical science,” said Mweli.
“We are doing everything in our power to make sure that we increase participation and the success rate in both mathematics and physical science."