JONATHAN JANSEN | Maimane’s pass-rate ambitions need an education system to match
There’s a way to get to those ideal outcomes, but not without changing the input standards
Mmusi Maimane of Build One South Africa has made the 30% pass rate his thing, just like Gayton McKenzie of the Patriotic Alliance has seized on illegal immigrants to gain political attention. It’s what politicians do when they try to find some kind of traction with a weary public. It is a goal I have long shared, that we need to dispense with this ridiculously low pass mark which in a number of subjects, apart from the home language, can still give you a matric (national senior certificate) certificate. It is simply disgraceful that a student can pass mathematics or geography without having demonstrated competence in 70% of the subject matter. ..
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