South Africa’s education crisis: Rethinking matric pass marks and vocational training

As South Africa reflects on the latest matric results, some in jubilation, some in sadness, academia faces a very harsh reality in that if we are, as a society, to succeed on a socio-economic level, we need to urgently rethink passing grades and a singular focus on university degrees.

It is time to have a national dialogue involving key stakeholders from government, business, academia, and civil society as to whether we are doing our youth and – as a result, our future leaders – a disservice through keeping the pass mark at 30% and 40%, even if only a minuscule percentage achieve that bare minimum in matric.

(To pass, students must achieve 40% in a home language, 40% in a further two subjects and 30% in another three additional subjects.)

This is not a new debate; the perception that South Africa’s education system has low standards has long been a discussion topic.

Doesn’t add up

The literacy and numeracy crisis runs deep. The 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study shows 81% of South African Grade 4 pupils cannot read for meaning in any language; ranking last among 43 countries surveyed.

We fare no better in numeracy: the 2024 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study shows South African students comparing badly with international counterparts in Mathematics and Science, despite some improvement in Grade 9 Mathematics. Both studies highlight the devastating effects of COVID-19 school closures on learning outcomes.

The Basic Education Department’s own review of progress in the basic education sector to 2024 report, dated September 15, 2024, review admits COVID-19 led to policy changes that effectively passed students upwards to the next grade regardless of readiness.

Broader context

This policy decision must, however, be understood in the broader context of less than half of the 1,250,791 pupils who began school in Grade 1 in 2014 having passed matric at the end of last year.

On the face of it, this figure shows an alarming drop-out rate, yet it masks the multitude of reasons why our young people do not complete basic schooling. And those reasons are numerous, ranging from poverty and drug addiction to being disinterested in school.

Perhaps the view among government decision-makers is that any education is better than none at all.

I argue that this does our young people a great disservice. We have nothing less than a youth unemployment crisis. A full quarter of all South Africans between the ages of 15 and 35 are unemployed. This situation worsens for the younger cohort: between 15 and 24, two in three people are without jobs.

Structural changes are needed as we are not educating our children for future studies nor – I dare say – to enter the world of work. Instead, South African universities are increasingly required to bridge the academic gap between matric and first‑year study as many students arrive underprepared in mathematics, science, academic literacy, and independent learning – skills essential for success in higher education.

Reframing vocational education

A change that can be made now, and make a massive difference, is to vanquish the notion that a matric pass with marks sufficient to technically qualify for entry into university is an essential. As a country, a university degree has a cachet that may be misplaced.

In many European countries, vocational qualifications are formally recognised as “highly skilled” under continental skills frameworks. Artisans, technicians, and vocational graduates enjoy strong labour mobility, competitive salaries, and high social status.

EU member countries have a high demand for skilled workers, with Germany being an aggressive recruiter. This presents valuable employment opportunities for South Africans with technical skills and vocational training. Yet, we undervalue blue‑collar and technical professions, despite facing a critical shortage of artisans. This cultural bias not only limits young people’s career choices but also constrains national economic growth.

Rethinking approaches

Encouraging students who learn better with their hands than from chalkboards to pursue an academic NSC sets them up for failure and increases pressure to cheat. Instead, we should recognise technical capabilities early and guide these students towards, for example, an N3 certificate at Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges.

Here, they gain real-world, hands-on, experience in fields with long-term opportunities and will likely achieve better results in gateway subjects such as Mathematics as these will be taught differently than in an academic stream.

This means encouraging pupils to take subjects in which they excel, whether that's Computer Applications Technology or technical trades, opening doors to careers with stability, growth, and international mobility.

But this demands serious conversations among all stakeholders about whether we want to continue seeking quantity of education over quality at a time when so many young people are desperate for jobs – jobs that may not be in the areas we stubbornly think are suitable.

Professor HB Klopper is Academic Head, Belgium Campus iTversity

The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or the Independent on Saturday.