Confusion and shock marked the opening of some schools in Limpopo and the Western Cape, where teachers’ bungles led to the revocation of promotion of some grade 11 learners. In Limpopo, 11 grade 11 learners were affected, while in the Western Cape the number was 43.
At the end of last year these learners were led to believe that they had been promoted to grade 12. But when schools re-opened this year, they were informed that they had been erroneously promoted.
Much unhappiness ensued, and learners at Mulaudzi High School in Limpopo went on a rampage, damaging teachers’ cars and school property in the process.
Although things did not escalate as much at Wesbank Secondary School in the Western Cape, the news was just as shattering to the learners. The education departments in both provinces had to act swiftly to clarify the situation to the learners, suspended some teachers and instituted disciplinary hearings whose outcomes are yet to be released.
The Western Cape Education department’s spokesperson, Gert Witbooi, said following their intervention, out of the 43 affected learners, only one was promoted to grade 12, while another was ordered to repeat grade 11. The remaining learners went to colleges.
George Modumela, provincial secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) in Limpopo, said the mistake was discovered in December 2006 when a teacher submitted reports to the head of department (HoD) for moderation.
Upon discovering the error, said Modumela, the HoD alerted the deputy-principal who then instructed the teacher to correct the mistake, but the teacher failed to do so. Then the principal found that wrong schedules were used to enter the marks and actually more grade 11 learners were promoted. He said the principal then alerted the circuit official.
Modumela said initial investigations implicated two officials at the circuit office, adding that it was established ‘beyond any shadow of doubt that the learners did not pass matricâ€. The affected circuit officials and the educator have since been suspended, and a disciplinary hearing has been instituted to investigate the matter further.
Although these incidents were only confined to two provinces and may be considered isolated and sporadic, some education commentators have advised caution.
Duan van der Westhuizen, head of department of Maths, Science and Technology and Computer Education at the University of Johannesburg, was one of those puzzled by the incidents.
Sharing his views rather guardedly, Van der Westhuizen said while it is an ‘unfortunate situationâ€, it is ‘unethical†for teachers to tamper with marks without using any scientific or established assessment methods in place.
He said this should also be seen against a backdrop of a rapidly changing education system which uses ‘very technical assessment methods†that most teachers have yet to come to grips with.
Said Van der Westhuizen: ‘This might be part of a larger issue where some teachers perhaps are not adequately prepared for the new curriculum.â€
He also suggests the cause may be due to a clash of education philosophies: the new philosophy emphasises outcomes-based approaches, while the other is based on reproductive knowledge systems where learners are assessed based on the percentages they score rather than their actual competence.
He said teachers also complain about the heavy administrative burden they have to carry.
Sadtu’s Mxolisi Dimaza also ventured his views and agreed with Van der Westhuizen that it is wrong for a teacher to increase marks without a valid reason. He said any teacher who does that must ‘know he or she is destroying the future of his or her learnersâ€.
In dealing with problems of this nature, Dimaza said it may be pointing to something seriously wrong within the education system, as a lot of factors may push a teacher to commit this kind of misconduct.
He cited ‘Resolution 5†as an example where, among others, a teacher’s salary increase is tied up with the results he or she produces. So whatever decision is arrived at, it must be informed by a whole picture, he said.