In January, basic education minister Angie Motshekga chose to highlight that the matric pass mark had crept up to 76.4%, from 76.2% in 2021, which, given the Covid-19-affected school year, was at least a pass.
What the minister neglected to say was that a mere one in five of the class of 2021 managed to pass maths, and the results were worse for science. This hasn’t changed since 2009.
In SA, 78% of children have not learnt to read for meaning by the age of 10 years — a glaring failure in an area all South Africans can agree requires urgent intervention.
To talk about the education crisis, Michael Avery is joined by former banker and academic Colin Coleman; and Judy Sikuza, CEO of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation
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