Sorry, folks at the Department of Basic Education (DBE), but you're going to need a stronger defence of SA's education system than what you issued this week.
While the World Economic Forum's (WEF's) Global Information Technology Report has now placed our maths and science education stone last out of 148 countries, one has to say to the DBE: it's not quite news to us. We've seen this grim story before.
The difference is that it wasn't packaged in a damning report placing us bottom of the pile - but the signs were always there.
Our education system hasn't been the most enviable from a statistical perspective for a while now and - although hiccups and glitches are perhaps expected for a democracy finding its feet - we're going to need a lot more tangible results before effectively deflecting criticisms.
The number of students taking maths and science has declined over the past few years and, in the build-up to the DBE's announcement of matric results in January, an analysis report noted just 42% of the 700 000 candidates were enrolled for maths. This is compared to 48% in 2010.
Similarly, the number of science students fell from 38% of candidates in 2010 to 32% last year.
But the WEF report pointed squarely at the quality (or lack thereof) of maths and science education, prompting the DBE to lash out in a statement, saying the report is "not a credible or accurate reflection of the state of education" locally.
Citing the Trends in Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS) report, the department noted sections of the education system were responding positively to its initiatives. The TIMSS 2011 results showed schools at the lower end of the performance spectrum, mainly schools in less advantaged contexts, registered improvements.
While improvements cannot be understated, considering many students' challenges in accessing decent education, that is not where the buck stops. What the WEF report, as well as other statistics, indicates is another set of targets for the DBE to reach. The department might have made inroads, but the journey is by no means over.
Quality vs quantity
There's also the matter of how students are passing. While SA's 78.2% matric pass rate grabbed headlines in January, ICT industry commentators raised concerns about whether the maths and science marks could cut it in the industry.
In what could shrink the future skills pool, less than 30% of successful 2013 matriculants passed maths and science, with ICT veteran Adrian Schofield telling ITWeb that the pass mark ought to be elevated to 50%, although that was unlikely to happen.
So, you see, DBE folks, the WEF report is but a brick in a wall of obstacles facing the advancement of SA's education. And while I take no pleasure in seeing our country lag behind much smaller nations, including Laos and the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, for subjects central to ICT growth, it can only help us in the long run to stop being so defensive about it and just get on with tackling our struggles head on.
In response to a Parliamentary question late last year, basic education minister Angie Motshekga said the DBE did not know the full extent of the shortage of maths, science and technology (MST) teachers, although a task team was subsequently set up to strengthen the department's strategy in this regard.
I would love nothing more than to see us tackle teacher training and injecting enthusiasm back into the core subjects for ICT.
That move - an initiative to actively bolster the DBE's stance and approach - is one of many more decisive steps needed to take the department from strength to strength. By setting up the task team and hopefully moving swiftly to address shortcomings in MST teaching and learning, we may yet make the laborious climb so that we finally make inroads for the sake of our students and country.
Not just for the sake of looking good on a yearly report, but to make sure the future of our youth and - by implication - the country is secured. I'd like to see the task team's emergence as the DBE's way of saying we have seen and heard the story of a struggling public education system and we're doing something to turn the tide.
There's a lot riding on the improvement of our learners when it comes to maths and science. It could go a long way to boost the ICT skills pool in an increasingly connected world, and it could hopefully also open doors for tertiary training.
I would love nothing more than to see us tackle teacher training and injecting enthusiasm back into the core subjects for ICT. That, coupled with a steady rise in our performance, would lead to improvements that we can be proud of, but only if government stays in the race and keeps up the consistency.
So, I say to you, DBE folks, we're behind you all the way. We just don't want to be behind the rest of the world for much longer.
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