February 16 to February 22, 2011
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No 4715
Finding God in the midst of pain
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Better foundations, better education By CLAiRe MATHieSoN
I
N his most recent paper, researcher Kenny Pasensie of the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO), an associated branch of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has examined the details of the 2010 National Senior Certificate examination. While overall positive results were achieved, Mr Pasensie said there was still need for improvement. He pointed out that a successful matric is the result of a long schooling journey and “the matric pass rate can only be improved if and when schooling in the foundation phases is improved”. Mr Pasensie said the most recent matric class defied the critics. Most people did not believe such an increase was possible considering “all the tinkering with the curriculum, the long break due to the football World Cup, and the teachers’ strike; the class of 2010 seemingly defied the odds stacked against them”. The 2010 class achieved an overall pass rate of 67.8% as opposed to 60.6% achieved in 2009. Despite this growth, Mr Pasensie said there were many more students who did not even get to matric and this was one of the biggest issues currently facing education in South Africa. “The 559 1661 learners who entered matric in 2010 were among the roughly 1.3 million Grade 1 learners of 1999. Yet only 537 543 wrote the exams, of which only 364 513 passed”. Mr Pasensie said within the 12 year school journey more than half of the 1999 learners had dropped out of school. “Even if one takes into account the more than 80 000 learners out of this cohort who registered as part-time matriculants, the numbers are still worrying,” he said. Mr Pasensie referred to a 2007 study conducted by Social Surveys Africa and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies which found that almost 96% of South African children between the ages of seven and 15 were in school in 2007. “This is commendable because it means that South Africa is on a par with the United Nations millennium development goal of universal access to primary school by 2015.” However, Mr Pasensie found that almost 12% of 16-18 year-olds were not in school, and the majority of these learners left school during grades 10 to 12. “For learners of 18 and older, the dropout rate escalates sharply.” The main reasons for this number include poverty, grade repetition (which can affect one’s attitude towards school), pregnan-
A Christian supporter of pro-democracy actions in egypt carries a crucifix amid the crowd in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in the square continued to protest the rule of egyptian President Hosni Mubarak despite concessions announced by the government. (Photo: yannis Behrakis/Reuters/CNS)
cy and geographical location. Another issue uncovered in his research was that of “culling” where schools, in an attempt to pursue impressive results, persuade weaker candidates to leave school before the matric exams. “This could perhaps explain the steady increase in the number of the parttime candidates since 2008 and the huge drop in full-time candidates,” Mr Pasensie said. The Department of Basic Education has instead suggested the increase was due to candidates repeating matric. “This may account for some of the increase, however, one cannot discount the notion that schools are culling their matriculants because it is only the full-time candidates that are counted in calculating the pass rate. Moving candidates to part-time status thus manipulates the pass rate.”
Mr Pasensie’s research also looked into the national focus on science and mathematics. Government has been trying to stimulate interest in these subjects through projects like the area-focused Dinaledi schools, however, far fewer candidates wrote mathematics in the 2010 NSC exams—263 034 compared to the 290 407 in 2009. Of those who passed mathematics in 2010, only 31% obtained a mark of 40% or above. Fewer learners also wrote the physical science exam—205 364 versus 220 882 in 2009. Of these only 30% managed to get above 40% in the subject. Mr Pasensie said the offset of this is the reduced number of applicants who would be applying for mathematical and scientific degrees. While many more distinctions were achieved in 2010 in these subjects, questions
have been raised about the difficulty level of the examination papers set. Mr Pasensie said it was possible that teachers were more familiar with the work and better prepared to teach. However, he said it seems to be a contradiction that only 31% and 30% of candidates managed to get more than 30% in these subjects respectively, but that the numbers of distinctions (a mark of over 80%) in both subjects increased so dramatically. Two further issues arise from these figures: the fact that a mark of 50% in the new NSC is regarded as equivalent to a mark of 40% in the old higher grade maths exam and to make matters worse, it is quite possible that the marks may have been adjusted upwards. Mr Pasensie said the only way to address these issues is through a massive effort to ensure better resources and improved teacher development and support. Language needs to be considered to ensure more students are receiving quality education and are able to learn comfortably. “There is no discernible single dominant African language and the parents tend to push English as the preferred medium of instruction,” Mr Pasensie said. “It is telling that the majority of matric candidates, 449 080, wrote English as ‘first additional language’ subject, and an additional 77 449 chose Afrikaans. This confirms, as our overall demographics suggest, that the overwhelming majority of candidates have an African language as their home language. Despite this, all papers other than language papers are set only in English or Afrikaans. We should surely be giving these learners a congratulatory pat on the back for their achievement in studying for and writing exams in a language that is at best a second language to them.” Mr Pasensie said that while there was a long way to go, there had been positive improvements from schools that serve special needs learners and schools in outlying areas. He said infrastructure needed to be established to improve the physical condition of schools and thereafter developing and supporting teachers would be the only way to improve the pass mark in subjects like maths and science. Finally, encouraging mothertongue education may help students stay in school longer and help them earn better grades. “It all starts with small steps and the laying of proper foundations,” he said.
Pope: Defend doctrine, but don’t attack others By CiNdy WoodeN
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VEN in the midst of the upheaval of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, St Peter Canisius knew how to defend Catholic doctrine without launching personal attacks on those who disagreed, Pope Benedict said. St Peter, a 16th-century Jesuit sent on mission to Germany, knew how to “harmoniously combine fidelity to dogmatic principles with the respect due to each person”, the pope said at his weekly general audience. In St Peter Canisius’ own time, more than 200 editions of his catechisms were published, the pope said, and they were so popular in Germany for so long that up until “my father’s generation people called a catechism simply a ‘Canisius’.”
The saint, who was born in The Netherlands, insisted there was a difference between wilfully turning away from the faith and “the loss of faith that was not a person’s fault under the circumstances, and he declared to Rome that the majority of Germans who passed to Protestantism were without fault”. “In a historical period marked by strong confessional tensions, he avoided—and this is something extraordinary—he avoided giving into disrespect and angry rhetoric. This was rare at that time of disputes between Christians,” the pope said. His theological achievements, which earned him the title “doctor of the church” in 1925, were effective because his study, preaching and writing all flowed from a personal friendship with Christ, long periods of prayer and unity with the Church under the leader-
ship of the pope, he said. With “peace, love and perseverance” he accomplished his task of renewing the Catholic Church in Germany even as Protestantism grew, the pope said. The saint’s life teaches Catholics today that “the Christian life does not grow except with participation in the liturgy, particularly the holy Mass on Sundays, and with daily personal prayer,” the pope said. “In the midst of the thousands of activities and multiple stimuli that surround us, it is necessary each day to find moments for reflection to listen to and speak to the Lord.” St Peter Canisius is a reminder that preaching the Gospel is effective only if the preacher has a personal relationship with Christ, is united with the Church and “lives a morally coherent life”, the pope said.—CNS
St Peter Canisius depicted in a stained-glass window in the Luxembourg Cathedral. St Peter knew how to defend Catholic doctrine without launching personal attacks on those who disagreed, Pope Benedict said. (Photo:Crosiers/CNS)