The statutory body that monitors examinations has said that the standard of the 2003 matriculation examinations will be investigated amid controversy over whether the pass rate was manipulated and artificially inflated, it was reported on Sunday.
There has been an improvement of 24,4% since 1999. The Sunday Times reports that Cassius Lubisi, chairman of Umalusi, said that an independent group of experts would be appointed to check a sample of exam papers. Umalusi is a statutory body that monitors South Africa’s exams and recommends the adjustment of overall marks.
The paper reported that ”many suggested that the figures had been artificially inflated” and that Umalusi itself had come into criticism for allegedly having contributed to inflating the pass rate.
However Lubisi said: ”We want to do a thorough analysis of select papers and look at the intellectual content of the question papers … Whether these were too easy or too difficult for some students.”
The Sunday Times quoted education director-general Thami Mseleku as saying: ”It’s important to do such (an analysis) because we want to be accountable — not to quell any baseless suspicions or please anybody. It’s our responsibility to aspire to the highest standards.”
The report said criticism of last year’s matric exams included:
A claim that pupils were forced to take subjects of standard grade;
That the number of pupils writing matric had declined. Of the 804 150 pupils in Grade 10 in 2001, only 440 267 full-time candidates sat the 2003 Grade 12 (matric) exams. Critics alleged this proved that weak pupils had been held back to boost the schools’ pass rates;
That papers were deliberately made easier by examiners; and
The 8,2% improvement in the Eastern Cape’s pass rate to 60% was questionable, given the chaos in the province’s education administration.
The report also said that tertiary institutions have repeatedly complained about mediocre students with good matric marks.
”A University of Cape Town study found that more pupils achieved A and B aggregates in 2001 than in 1997 — but that more and more first-year students were struggling academically.” – Sapa