Curriculum to blame for poor performance of technical schools: Motshekga

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has blamed the curriculum as the source of poor performance in technical schools in Gauteng and nationally.

Speaking at the release of the matric results in Gauteng‚ Motshekga said government was to blame for the poor performance experienced in technical schools.

• KZN boasts of having highest number of pupils who passed matricWhile only two-thirds of KwaZulu-Natal pupils passed their matric exams‚ acting premier Sihle Zikalala is nonetheless pleased. 

"The issue of technical schools is a national problem. We have even traveled to France‚ China... because we want to grow the sector‚" she said.

"We have picked-up that one of the problems in the technical schools is the curriculum that we set up in the technical schools. We have made maths compulsory for all learners. These are the results that we are reaping for putting conditions which are not necessary.

"The curriculum experts and researchers and authorities in this area have been working with us to finalize our technical maths."

• ‘We are on the right path‚’ says Lesufi as Gauteng records 85.1% pass rateThe Gauteng Provincial Government remains committed to its target of achieving a 90% pass rate under the current administration‚ education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said on Thursday. 

Motshekga said that mathematics should not be compulsory at the technical schools because these institutions aimed to produce electricians‚ not electrical engineers.

Earlier‚ Gauteng MEC of Education Panyaza Lesufi announced that the three worst performing schools in the province were all technical schools.

The worst of the lot was Bokgoni Technical School in Tswane which registered 884 pupils for matric but only 59 passed.

Second in this league was Soshanguve Technical School where 163 pupils sat to write but only 58 passed. Another member of this group was Modiri Technical School in Mamelodi where of the 63 pupils wrote exams but only 25 passed.

Lesufi promised to visit the schools immediately to find out where the problems lay. But Motshekga told him that the problem had already been identified.

"As you go there‚ tell them that we have picked up that the problem is with the curriculum and we are working with them to sort it out."

Motshekga also used the opportunity to dismiss reports that government had adopted a 20% pass rate for certain grades.

“You can't say 20% is a pass. What we are saying is that if you are not going to do maths in Grade 10 but have qualified in all the other subjects [you can pass]. We were reverting to the old policy which says if you qualify in all your subjects you don't necessarily have to pass maths as a condition to go to Grade 10‚" she said.

- TMG Digital