Many grade 12 learners do not cope with the pressures of preparing for the matric exams
At the announcement of the 2024 national senior certificate results recently, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube reminded the nation that this occasion was an opportunity to look at the health of our education system.
I couldn’t help but think about the mental health of learners, especially those from previously disadvantaged schools. Many grade 12 learners do not cope with the pressures of preparing for the matric exams. They become stressed, weary and anxious from carrying the burdens of the education sector’s failure to address the systemic problems that lead to persistently poor learning outcomes.
In her address, the minister noted that this historic 87% matric pass was made possible by, among other things, extra face-to-face tuition sessions, Saturday catch-up programmes and extended at-school hours to ensure adequate revision of key subjects.
We must remember that now, more than ever, we must be truthful about what the minister referred to in her speech as “earlier disruptions”, which have led to countless learners struggling to cope with the curriculum content through no fault of their own. Researchers have repeatedly found that the curriculum is simply over-packed.
An expert in the field, Dr Lynn Bowie, recently explained to an education sector gathering that focusing on adjusting the teaching time, creating connections and coherence and reducing repetition in the curriculum would go a long way to improving learning outcomes.
Learners have no control over the failures in the system and yet they bear the brunt of them.
At the announcement of the National Senior Certificate results, former education minister Angie Motshekga lauded the class of 2023 for having tenacity and fortitude because they had dedicated weekends and holidays to taking extra classes in preparation for their final matric exams.
My heart aches that this is seen as a badge of honour when, in fact, it shows the high cost that learners are paying with their mental well-being, because of the country’s systemic shortcomings.
Learners in rural and township schools are having to put in this level of effort because of the system’s inability to build strong foundations to get them comfortably through their schooling. Then, right at the end, the system expects learners to undo 12 years of poor preparation to reach matric pass rate targets.
Hearing these commendations of learners, and of the interventions put in place, I couldn’t help thinking of my niece’s friend in Tembisa, and many others in our schooling system, especially in townships and rural areas, who grapple with the high-stress levels and anxiety that have become synonymous with the matric year.
This year, I noticed that the sound of teenage girls giggling had dissipated, because my niece’s friend no longer came around. The friend stopped by one Sunday afternoon, after an extra tuition class at her school, looking stressed and sleep-deprived — as anyone would after working seven days a week.
She said she simply didn’t have enough time in the day for anything outside of studying. After school, she went to extra tuition and only got home after 5pm. On Saturdays and Sundays she had additional classes that ran into the afternoon.
When she got home, she did her best to do her household chores but, considering her homework load, her mother had taken over the responsibility. She either stayed up until midnight and woke at 6am or tried to be in bed by 9pm so that she could wake up at 3am to study before getting ready for school.
On a good night, she got six hours of sleep, which is far below the recommended eight to 10 hours for 13- to 18-year-olds. Sleep deprivation has adverse effects on cognitive abilities and especially on children and adolescents’ learning and development.
When children don’t get enough sleep, they are at risk of poor mental health and this manifests through a foggy brain, poor attention span and a decrease in focus, concentration and memory, which leads to low comprehension and information retention. All these contribute to poor academic performance and behaviour changes, which disrupt teaching and learning.
One could argue that the matric year is the time when young people need sleep the most to help manage their stress levels and stabilise their emotions and hormones.
School holidays, an important time for learners to break the stress cycle and reset their nervous systems, they are sent to boot camps. According to an article on the department of basic education’s website, the camps are organised by provincial departments “as a revision platform and to bridge content gaps in all subjects” before learners sit for their exams.
A young man from Tlhatlhaganyane village in North West, who attended these camps during the Easter, June and spring holidays, said they would often start their days at 4am and end at 10pm.
I worry that the intense level of learning at these matric preparation camps could lead to high-stress levels and burnout.
Studies have repeatedly shown that giving learners time away from their studies is a powerful tool for them to recover, regulate their emotions and stress levels, and to improve memory and cognitive function.
School holidays also present learners with the opportunity to build their social skills through quality time connecting with family and friends.
According to the Zenex Foundation, “Learning backlogs of learners in poor schools tend to be deep, sustained and more permanent.” This means that the difficulties many of these learners have cannot be remediated through cramming in the last year of schooling.
Research has confirmed that the sustainable way to improve learning outcomes is to strengthen the system and especially improving foundational learning. In her speech, Gwarube emphasised that reforming foundational learning is a priority. It’s encouraging to know that efforts on this front are already under way, with initiatives such as the Early Grade Reading Programme and other projects backed by development partners at both global and regional levels.
But educational change takes time. Therefore we must acknowledge that the scores of young people who fall outside of this intervention period, including the class of 2025, deserve to be seen and to have the cycle of cumulative backlogs addressed innovatively, with urgency and utmost care and consideration for their mental health and overall well-being.Nduvho Ramulongo holds a master’s in Education Leadership and Policy Studies, from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.