The National Senior Certificate (NSC) or matric certificate is the best qualification in the world for the people of SA.
This is according to the CEO of Umalusi, Mafu Rakometsi, who briefed parliament on Tuesday about the findings of a study that compared the NSC with five other international qualifications.
The matric exams quality assurer commissioned Ecctis, which provides UK national agency services in qualifications, skills and migration on behalf of the UK government, to conduct the benchmarking investigation.
According to Rakometsi, the purpose of the study was to understand the standing of the NSC in relation to similar qualifications from five other jurisdictions. These included:
- The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) offered by 2,715 schools in 138 countries;
- Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE);
- New South Wales (NSW) Higher School Certificate (HSC), which replaced the Ghana Senior Secondary School Certificate;
- Zimbabwean Forms 5-6 advanced level (ZIMSEC); and
- Cambridge Assessment International Education (CIE) AS & A Levels offered in 157 countries.
Five subjects were compared, including English first additional language, geography, life sciences, maths and physical science.
Some of the findings included:
- NSC, which is three years, has a longer duration than others and the most compulsory subjects;
- NSC is the strictest in terms of prescribing what is taught, in what sequence and within exactly what time frame; and
- There are some indications of greater depth and complexity of subject content in some aspects of other programmes compared with the NSC.
The study found that in geography the NSC has many similarities with the others in terms of the aims, intended learning outcomes and assessment.
The maths curricula offered in the different qualifications “show differences in emphasis on certain topics”.
“NSC shows less emphasis on mechanics topics and use of technology and more emphasis on spatial skills.”
In life sciences or biology as it is known internationally, the NSC is the only qualification to cover “a history of life on earth”.
The investigation found that while the NSC combined the content of physics and chemistry, these were separate subjects in the other five international qualifications.
The majority of our pupils must be offered vocational and occupational streams rather than academic streams or programmes.
— Mathanzima Mweli, director-general of basic education
“The unique feature of the NSC is its helicoidal approach: the same topic is revisited every year in greater depth and complexity.”
The study found that while similar assessment methods were used across the different qualifications in physical science, “some provide a slightly more rigorous test of higher order skills than the NSC curriculum”.
The report recommended that it was worth considering whether some topics in geography could be updated.
It also recommended that in physical science it is worth rethinking the packaging of the subject and whether physics and chemistry should be offered as two distinct subjects.
Rakometsi said that in SA “we have our own history and our own context”, adding: “What flourishes in education systems elsewhere may be good and may thrive in that area but it may not thrive in our context because of our history.”
He said that in one of the jurisdictions maths included technology and mechanics, while maths locally does not include these two aspects.
“In SA technology is taken care of in ICT [information and communications technology], which is a stand-alone subject.”
He said they were going to allow Umalusi and department of basic education officials to “take a deep dive” into the specific subject issues raised in the report and make recommendations, including whether physics and chemistry should be separated.
“The NSC is adding value to our economy as we are producing doctors, nurses, engineers and teachers.”
DA MP Baxolile Nodada said: “Now that the study shows our curricula is comparable, why does that not reflect in our results?”
“What could be the possible reasons why pupils are not university-ready? What is being done to re-jig our curriculum to make sure, as much as it is comparable, it is effective?”
He said unless the study was followed up by “effective and efficient action” it will be a waste of money”.
ANC MP Ronald Moroatshehla asked whether the study’s findings reflected a need to review all CAPS (Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements) curricula “noting the gaps identified in the subjects in the study”.
Director-general of basic education Mathanzima Mweli said countries that experience better economic growth “seem to have a larger number of their pupils following the vocational and occupational streams”.
He quoted examples such as Singapore, China and India, where 50% to 60% of pupils chose these two pathways.
“The majority of our pupils must be offered vocational and occupational streams rather than academic streams or programmes.
“You do need medical doctors, but the majority of any population must get into streams that can afford them self-employment and the capability to create jobs rather than look for jobs.”
Said Mweli: “Technical schools are extremely expensive to establish and it’s going to take time for the country, but that’s the direction we need to follow.”
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