BOSA Congratulates Learners

The following statement was made today by BOSA Leader, Mmusi Maimane at a press briefing outside the Kwadedangedlale Secondary School in Zola, Soweto. Maimane was joined by Deputy Leader, Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster:

Build One South Africa (BOSA) congratulates every young person who today will celebrate passing their matric exams. The Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, last evening announced the official matric results for the class of 2023, noting a pass rate of 82.9%. We celebrate the achievements of our brilliant young minds, alongside hard working and dedicated teachers and school staff, and sacrificial parents.

A brilliant education system forms the foundation of any successful society, and that is why this year it is critical we have a different conversation about the state of our education system.

We cannot be distracted by Angie Motshekga’s fanfare last night celebrating the individual accomplishments of our brilliant learners who overcame a system that is stacked against them. Instead, we are focused on calling for a new leadership team for the education department and new ideas that can get this vital department back on track.

There is much focus on the 82.9% pass rate, which ostensibly points to some improvement. However, a narrow focus on the pass rate while ignoring the pass mark is misleading and unhelpful. To put it frankly, even a 100% pass rate would mean little when students can pass with 30% in numerous fundamental subjects including physical science, information technology, engineering, economics, accounting, and maths.

The 2023 Matric results illustrate a number of flashing red lights which must be brought to the fore. Here are indicators which are cause for concern.

Dropout rate: 4 out of 10 learners (38%) who began grade one in 2012 did not matriculate last year. In 2012 there were 1 208 973 pupils in grade one – only 740 566 of which made it to the matric examination desk. That means there are almost 470 000 young persons who will find it difficult to get a job and will likely become part of the youth unemployment line.

University admission: Just 41% of learners passed with a Bachelors Pass, making them eligible for admission to university. Trends predict that only 12% of that cohort will enrol at a university. That is why global rankings place South Africa 107 out of 141 in skills readiness for the future workforce.

30% pass mark: In order to inflate pass rates, pass marks are unjustifiably low. Current standards convey to learners that 30% and 40% are acceptable achievements. Crucially, the majority of students who take crucial matric subjects pass with less than 50%.

International benchmarks including TIMMS and PIRLS indicate that only 20% of our learners are performing at an appropriate level. This while eight out of every 10 children in South Africa cannot read for meaning by the age of 10.

There is little debate about whether South Africa has an education crisis. The system is begging for a modern, future focused overhaul. The quality of education afforded to the vast majority of our children is substandard. Lack of resources and infrastructure, pit toilets, crowded classrooms, unaccountable teachers – we rightly expect much more progress than we’ve witnessed over the past 30 years.

In truth, we have two basic education systems in South Africa. While 78% of children cannot read for meaning in any language by the time they reach Grade 4 and are exposed to pit toilets and crumbling school buildings, others are learning to code and write computer programmes in state-of-the-art learning facilities.

That is why we are today announcing a set of interventions to fix our schools and our education system.

#AngieMustGo Petition: Our nationwide petition is now live, calling on President Ramaphosa to fire Angie Motshekga as Basic Education Minister and replace her with a competent, qualified and committed individual from the education sector. To date, the petition already has over 25 000 signatures and our legal team has been briefed on exploring options after the petition gains unavoidable traction. We call on all concerned South Africans – teachers, parents, students included – to rally behind this petition.

Education Rescue Plan: From today, we no longer recognise Angie Motshekga as head of the Basic Education Department. She was appointed to the position of Minister of Basic Education in 2009, over 5300 days ago. And for 15 years, Motshekga has failed to deliver quality education that is market relevant and globally competitive.

We therefore will table BOSA’s education rescue plan with the Director-General of the Department of Basic Education.

Our comprehensive plan outlines how to kickstart change in education, including solutions such as:

• Ending the 30% pass mark and replacing it with a minimum 50% pass mark
• Incentivising students to study subjects that are not only needed in the economy but resilient enough to withstand global developments
• Giving choice for parents through a school voucher programme that allows parents to decide which school a child attends – structured similarly to charter schools in the US.
• Financially rewarding well-performing teachers and sending poor-performing teachers for upskilling at teacher training colleges.
• Introducing a collaboration schools’ model that converts struggling schools to collaboration schools with private financial assistance; and
• Giving the education sector an impartial referee that is free from political, union or governing body pressure via an independent education ombudsman to adjudicate school standards, teacher excellence and complaints.

Loadshedding at schools: BOSA will write to Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa seeking firm assurances on readiness to honour our court order and ensure every school in the country is shielded from loadshedding by 31 January 2024. Last year, in a landmark court case led by BOSA and others, government was ordered to instate electricity supply to all public hospitals, schools and police stations during loadshedding. This means that from 1 February, if any school experiences loadshedding, government will be in contempt of court.

Manifesto launch: Finally, and most importantly, BOSA will be offering voters the opportunity to change the status quo through the voting booth in this year’s pivotal elections. Our offer to the electorate is a Jobs Plan – a manifesto to build a South Africa that works – that focuses on creating jobs, growing the economy, and upskilling and educating the nation for the future. The launch will be on Sunday 28 January 2024 at Victoria Yards in downtown Johannesburg.

As South Africa is on the precipice of change, our job is to build a new shared heritage for South Africa and its people. Alongside our candidates, BOSA leadership is primed and ready to fill the leadership vacuum and build pride and prosperity in South Africa.