Hundreds of Western Cape Grade 10 pupils — guinea pigs for the new curriculum — failed their June exams, the Cape Argus reported on Monday.
Its website said some schools reported a failure rate of up to 60%.
This year’s Grade 10 was the first to tackle the revised curriculum, referred to as the Further Education and Training Band, and will be followed by grades 11 and 12.
But principals said the first exam had been a disaster. They feared many pupils would have to repeat Grade 10 next year.
They had called meetings with parents to discuss the problems and work out a way forward before the crucial end-of-year exams.
The General Education Training Band curriculum, followed by pupils up to Grade 9, had failed to prepare them for the stringent demands of the new curriculum, principals reported.
Nadeem Hendricks, principal at Trafalgar High in Cape Town, said: ”The results are frightening. We are devastated. About 60% of our learners failed. Normally our failure rate is 20%.”
Sigamoney Naicker, chief director of education planning for the Western Cape education department, said the department was aware of the ”challenges” facing teachers and Grade 10 pupils.
Teachers had not been adequately trained to introduce the curriculum.
”We have a very realistic understanding of the challenges we face and there is a commitment to solving the problems.”
Hendricks said the gap between the two curriculums was ”too big” and there was ”no synergy between the two”.
”The curriculums do not flow into one another. This is not working at all.”
At Spine Road Secondary in Mitchells Plain, 50% of Grade 10 pupils failed the June exams.
”It’s traumatic for our learners,” said principal Riyadh Najaar.
”We have to do something to prevent a massive Grade 10 failure rate at the end of the year.”
Thurston Brown, principal of Manenberg High, said teachers were already working on a strategy to improve results.
He said teachers had not been properly trained by the department to meet the demands of the new curriculum. ”The picture is very gloomy.”
Louis de Kock, principal at Gardens Commercial High, said: ”The Grade 10s can’t cope with the curriculum.” — Sapa