(Newswire.net — January 4, 2014) Pretoria, Gauteng —
Wholly triumphant and accompanied by a big jamboree, the Minister of Basic Education will proudly announce the much anticipated 2013 matric results on the 6th of January 2014. Congratulations all around at the astounding success of the education system, or, is this just another farce with no real value?
With just over seven hundred thousand full time and part time candidates enrolled for the 2013 National Senior Certificate exams, it bodes a sad story to those expecting to find a job with their certificate in hand.
Whether or not there are enough jobs available in the country to accommodate the new candidates is debatable. The more serious question is do employers have enough confidence in the real value of the National Senior Certificate to employ a person solely based on the qualification?
This raises many more questions than answers which employers will have to take into account. Look at the comments made by senior officials from different learning institutions:
According to an article in the Sunday Independent, Nic Spaull, a University of Stellenbosch education researcher, said there was now an “increasing trend for universities to use the national benchmarking tests or university-specific entrance tests in addition to the Matric results … “
“This is because the Matric results alone cannot distinguish between those students who should and shouldn’t qualify for university. In the past universities only used Matric results; now they use both.”
It is for this reason that most countries use the performance and results of lower grades – 3, 7 or 9 – to assess the quality of their education system.
According to the Department of Basic Education, the marking of the results were completed on the 15th of December 2013 and the final result is that raw marks were accepted for 38 subjects, with five subjects moderated upwards and 16 subjects downwards after adjusting for the average performance of pupils in those subjects in previous examinations.
In an article on BD Live, Umalusi Council Chairman, Sizwe Mabizela, said the Council was satisfied that nothing had compromised the integrity or credibility of the examinations process.
The Council noted that the number of subjects in which raw marks were accepted meant that the “system has reached a significant level of maturity”.
The setting and moderation of question papers had also stabilised, but “the quality of marking still poses a significant challenge in many subjects”, said Prof Mabizela.
“In this regard we must reiterate our call that those who wish to mark exams should take a competency test on the subject they wish to mark,” he said.
These issues pose questions regarding the competency level of prospective employees in the workforce.
If established Universities do not accept the results as an entry qualification, results are adjusted to satisfy a pass rate requirement and there are question marks on the competency of markers, all on public record, how can an employer trust the qualification as a benchmark for proficiency?
It will remain a source of concern for many years to come, but when the party is over and reality kicks in, it is up to the individual to move forward, find a job and create a career.
The safety net has gone and the after-party for those now seeking employment will for most be a sad ending.
You can get more information on what the next step should be by clicking here.