Something is indeed wrong!

Form having a pass rate of 72% in the academic year 2013 for the Grade 12 students of the Mohlamme Secondary School to have now dropped to 48% is indeed an indication that somewhere along the line something is wrong.

Irrespective of the fact that the examinations was based on the new CAT system that is more information based than before, the teachers that have been mandated to educate learners in this respect have failed dismally.

What is of greater concern is the fact that all of these teachers have been trained, by professional trainers, that apparently had the capacity and capability to transfer skills to trainees, and highly paid for their mandate of training by the Department of Education, and according to a statement as released by SADTU none of these trainers had the necessary capacity to train professionally. Who decided to employ such uneducated and people without capacities and capabilities need to be asked as a matter of urgency.

It is indeed a sad state of affairs to see that so many students have failed in achieving their ultimate goal of 12 years of studying and then to be let down by the Department that has been mandated to educate and prepare them for the future.

What is even of more concern is the fact that taken that in 2004 more than 1, 0 million Grade 1’s register for school and in 2014 only 500 000 sat for the final Grade 12 exams.

That extrapolates to a drop out of more than 50% of the students that initially enrolled to advance their education and this in no way is anything to be proud of in any standard.

We have a Minister of Basic Education that stands “proud” to first announce that the pass rate for 2014 was indeed 78.2% and then had to correct herself by stating that it was indeed 72.8%, a drop of more than 2.5 on the previous year.

And then to make the ludicrous statement that in 1994 she predicted the pass rate for 2014 to be at least 75% which now in actual fact is very close to her goal is even more ridiculous.

We need to have pity on those learners whom the system failed to educate. It is indeed not a fault on their own, but the master whom is supposed to equip them was obviously insufficiently trained and ill equipped to do what he or she was mandated to do.

Fully realizing that there has been certain logistical and mythological problems that the school encountered during the year, but then the least that the Department could do is to have some kind of contingency plan in motion to cater and take the necessary remedial ameliorated action in order not to sacrifice on the learning of those that are there to learn.

Don’t despair – if you qualify for the supplementary examinations study and do your best and try and achieve your dream that you have had