DA gives Motshekga F ‘report card’

The DA has issued basic education minister Angie Motshekga a “report card” evaluating her efforts in her department.

This comes after the official opposition party disputed the 80.1% matric pass rate, saying many pupils were not accounted for and the real pass rate was 54.6%.

DA shadow minister of basic education Baxolile Nodada said it is “only fair” Motshekga's efforts are evaluated.

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For “foundation phase outcomes” Nodada gave Motshekga a D, saying: “Due to continuous Covid-19 lockdowns and the disruptions to education, pupils are up to two years behind in literacy and numeracy skills.

“A 2020 report supported the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study findings that eight out of 10 grade 4 pupils in South Africa could not read for meaning in any language,” he said.

For “teacher development”, he gave Motshekga an F.

According to Nodada, there were 1,575 unqualified and underqualified teachers in classrooms in 2022.

“A Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality study that measured teacher knowledge revealed South Africa does not measure up to its African counterparts. South African teachers struggled to pass tests in the subjects they teach, with grade 6 teachers achieving results of less than 50%, 41% for mathematics and  37% for reading subjects,” he said.

Nodada gave Motshekga another F for “dropouts”, saying this remained a major problem.

“The real 2022 matric pass rate was a mere 54.6%, with a dropout rate of 31.8%,” he said.

Motshekga also got an F for “school safety”, with Nodada highlighting the rapes and murders committed at primary, secondary and high schools.

“Second quarter crime statistics for 2022/23 revealed 83 rapes and 19 murders committed at primary, secondary and high schools, day care facilities, special schools and tertiary institutions,” said Nodada.

“There were 258 cases of assault/grievous bodily harm and 22 cases of attempted murder on educational premises and 411 gang-related incidents reported to the education department.”

He said Motshekga's marks improved in “mother tongue education”, giving her a C.

“Despite numerous local and international studies showing the benefit of mother tongue education, it remains a contentious issue with comparatively few schools with a single medium of instruction, especially in the indigenous languages.

“Strides towards the expansion of mother tongue education have been made with isiXhosa and Sesotho piloted as language of instruction beyond the foundation phase in the Eastern Cape,” he said.

For “quality of education”, Nodada gave Motshekga a D and said she has “ample room for improvement”.

“Though her department has a number of worthy initiatives, they will not succeed without focus and a concerted effort to address and solve the serious concerns plaguing the education system.”

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