Class of 2017 must start raising us all up

15 January 2017 - 02:00 By Mark Barnes
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Matric! What a wonderful year of your life. You suddenly find yourself, for the first time really, at the top of the pile.

Matric pupils writing their exams. File photo.
Matric pupils writing their exams. File photo.
Image: Shelley Christians

It's only you and your classmates who matter this year: the rest of the kids are lesser beings. Matric students have certain rights and privileges. You get to dress differently, wear that special blazer, or tie, or badge that sets you apart, and go to the matric farewell.

Everyone gets their first taste of leadership in matric. Prefects, sports captains, heads of house and the head of school even more so, but everyone is setting an example, everyone is contributing to the Class of 2017 yearbook.

It is in matric that you first get to weigh up responsibility and popularity - finding that balance isn't easy, even for grown-ups.

Matric is your last all-expenses-paid, everyone-on-your-side, supper-ready-when-you-get-home chance to absorb knowledge.

So, what's the deal? The deal is that whatever you score in matric lives with you forever.

Your marks will determine the breadth of your choices after school, simple as that, rightly or wrongly, whether you get the job or not. Whatever tertiary qualification you may earn after school, whether it be from a university or technical college, they'll always ask you how you did in matric.

For my current job, I had to produce my original matric certificate - from 1973. So you'd better do your best.

That's what they want. What you want, and what you get, out of your final year at school, is far more important. The marks are just a score against a standard which varies from time to time. The real test is what you've learnt, how solid your foundations of knowledge and understanding are, not what you got away with.

You will never have as much time to focus on such limited learning material again in your life, believe it or not. You will seldom be surrounded by more willing teachers or greater common cause. Embrace it.

I only offer this advice so strongly now because I didn't take it then. I know better now.

Much has been written about the 2016 matric results and the standard of education in South Africa, not much of it flattering.

It is not for lack of spending - we're among the top 10% of countries in terms of percentage of GDP spent on education. We're just not getting the right returns on our investment.

There may be a place for private education, but it's not the panacea. The system, the solution for the people, must be good enough.

It is the natural consequence of an inferior product offering in a world of free choice that a superior alternative will emerge, but at a price. And that price is too high for too many of our most deserving pupils.

What could we do? It starts with knowing the truth. It starts with defining standards of knowledge, not pass rates. Once we have an objective assessment of the extent of the problem, we must invest, invest, invest to fix it.

The state is integral to the solution. Government schools must be the gold standard, good enough to attract the best teaching talent, the most aspirant learners.

And government schools must also accommodate everybody, not negotiable. There is no price too high for an educated population in a competitive global economy. Consider the cost of the alternative.

Education is an investment, not an expense. Sure, there must be rules. Of course merit must prevail at tertiary level, but we must educate all of our people, at any price.

The fiscus will get its return, when we build a profitable, inclusive, competitive economy.

If you're starting matric this year, do your bit to raise the standard. Go to school and learn - there is no greater power than knowledge, no greater fear than its absence.

Oh, yes, have some fun being the Class of 2017. Good luck.

Barnes is CEO of the South African Post Office. He has matric

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