By Lisakhanya Mohlomi and Stacey Jacobs
Just last week the global community observed the United Nations’ International Day of Education under the theme “AI and Education: Human Agency in an Automated World”.
This theme highlighted the significant role education plays in preparing individuals and communities for a rapidly evolving world. It also served as a stark reminder that a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is essential to compete and succeed in a world increasingly defined by technological advancement.
Yet in South Africa, the national Department of Basic Education (DBE) appears to be falling short of its responsibility to prepare learners for this reality. This moment requires the department to urgently re-evaluate its role in equipping learners with the tools needed to thrive in a fast-changing world. In doing so, the government must confront the damage that its regressive policies and short-sighted economic decisions are set to cause. From reversing gains in the sector to compromising the potential of all learners, and threatening South Africa’s socio-economic development: is the DBE adequately preparing learners for life after basic education, or setting them up for failure?
Gateway to where? Harsh realities behind the 2024 matric results
The class of 2024’s outstanding 87% matric pass rate was met with a much-deserved celebration earlier this month. However, beneath the surface of this success, the fault lines in the education system wreaked havoc on performance in gateway subjects such as Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
At first glance, this cohort’s Mathematics results reveal signs of improvement. The proportion of learners achieving at least 30% increased by 5.6% compared to 2023, continuing the gradual upward trajectory over the past five years. However, this improvement is off a low base. And even though 69% of learners met the 30% benchmark, the converse is that nearly one-third of all learners who wrote this exam did not reach this basic achievement level.
Equally concerning is the fact that while 75.6% of learners who wrote the Physical Sciences exam in 2024 passed with at least 30%, this marks a decline when compared to the class of 2023’s performance.
While passing with at least 30% in these subjects contributes to achieving a National Senior Certificate (NSC), oftentimes it is not sufficient for admission into tertiary studies in STEM fields. In South Africa, many tertiary institutions require between a 60% and 75% achievement level in Mathematics and Physical Sciences to be considered for admission into these specialised fields.
So, without a meaningful increase in the quality of passes, these learners remain locked out of opportunities that not only have the potential to change their lives but ultimately contribute to South Africa’s economic growth.
The situation is even bleaker when looking at performance at higher achievement levels in these gateway subjects. At a national level, less than one-third (30.2%) of learners who wrote Mathematics in 2024 achieved 50% or more. In rural provinces such as the Eastern Cape, this figure is even lower, with less than a quarter (23.9%) of learners who wrote the exam achieving a 50% pass mark.
The 2024 matric class’ performance in Physical Sciences is equally concerning. Not only did the proportion of learners achieving 30% or more decline from 2023, but eight of nine provinces saw a decrease in the proportion of learners achieving at least 50% in this subject when compared to 2023 performance.
These results require the DBE to pay urgent attention to the systemic inequalities that disadvantage learners from the moment they start their basic education journey. The disparities in school conditions between districts, provinces and quintiles risk leaving the majority of learners trapped in a cycle of poverty while simultaneously arresting South Africa’s socio-economic development.
Back to basics: The link between literacy and numeracy and success in gateway subjects
It is undeniable that a strong foundation in numeracy and literacy are the building blocks of education, and essential for success in subjects like Maths and Physical Sciences. Although 81% of Grade 4 learners across the country are unable to read for meaning, the DBE has failed to ensure that schools have the enabling infrastructure to facilitate reading, such as libraries. The department’s own statistics show that 74% of public schools do not have libraries, and of those that do, over 40% of them are not stocked.
A 2023 international benchmarking assessment of Mathematics and Science knowledge of South African learners at Grade 5 and Grade 9 levels found that the majority of Grade 5 learners performed at or below the low benchmark level for Mathematics and Science.
When disaggregating the results by school quintile, a clear trend emerged: as the quintile level rose, representing schools with higher socio-economic status, the average Mathematics and Science results increased.
“My schooling journey has been quite a roller-coaster. Subjected to go to quantile 1-3 schools I had to make the best out of the situation. We regularly had problems with infrastructure which grows with each grade. In Grade 8 we were 60+ in a class and in my matric there was 24 of us in a class, but we would have to move infrastructure from the classrooms to the halls. It could have been better, but the system continues to fail the black child.” – Yolanda Sewela, Matric Equaliser, Gauteng
Overcrowded classrooms and poor school infrastructure continue to undermine effective teaching and learning of foundational skills, and later on of gateway subjects such as Mathematics and Physical Sciences. In overcrowded classrooms, teachers struggle to provide individual attention to learners, making it nearly impossible to address diverse learner needs and/or effectively teach complex concepts.
Hamstrung: the infrastructure conditions crippling teaching and learning
It is unacceptable that 82.4% of all schools lack laboratories, depriving learners of hands-on learning experiences that are essential for STEM subjects like Physical Sciences. Schools in rural areas are worse off: 93% of all public schools in the Eastern Cape and 94% of public schools in Limpopo do not have laboratories.
Schools in rural provinces also have some of the worst historical infrastructure backlogs, with many learners forced to learn in undignified conditions with poor sanitation and dilapidated infrastructure. Despite this, the DBE has removed binding timelines for infrastructure delivery from the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure regulations.
A call to action
In addressing the deep cracks plaguing our education system, the DBE must get back to basics by improving literacy and numeracy as these are key to learners’ performance in gateway subjects. These skills are not only essential for individual achievement, but ultimately drive economic development. In this context, the DBE and provincial education departments must focus on ensuring equitable access to resources, improve schooling conditions and ensure that teacher posts are protected.
Equal Education reiterates its call on the DBE and provincial education departments to:
- Urgently fix the school infrastructure law, by providing clear and reasonable deadlines for infrastructure delivery;
- Invest in strengthening foundation phase learning; and
- Introduce binding school capacity norms that protect the right to education and afford learners dignified school environments that are safe, well-equipped, free from overcrowding and conducive to a positive learning environment.
We further reiterate our call for national and provincial treasuries to:
- Ringfence the ‘children’s budget’ to ensure that the constitutional right to education is protected and ensure that education spending is especially protected against austerity, or ‘fiscal consolidation’ pressures; and
- Increase the budget for the wage bill so that more teachers and teaching assistants can be employed in our public schools.
Jabobs is a researcher at Equal Education and Mohlomi is an Equaliser and member of the National Council of Equal Education.
INSIDE EDUCATION
