Results vs Development: A perspective on the 2025 NSC exams diagnostic Report
One of the key causes of a lack in quality in results, is down to the strain in resources forcing teachers to adapt to more practicable methods at the peril of learners having a quality education. At Chelo, we believe true development is quality driven, and with valor, we accept the challenge to be a national leader in developing education such that teachers do not encounter moral dilemma issues due to resources.
Results vs Development: A perspective on the 2025 NSC exams diagnostic Report
News on the national averages of the NSC matriculant examinations were received resoundingly back in January, with Minister of education, Ms. Siviwe Gwarube leading with the announcement of a record 87,98% of enrolled candidates obtaining the National Senior Certificate required for further education and entering the job market.
An Examination Diagnostic Report, detailing a national survey of "100 scripts per subject, per paper, across all provinces", was released concurrently with the results. The report guides educators on the methods of teaching, most effective to their learners getting top results, noting social media as a key impendent to learner's cognitive and communicative practices. Remedies to the consequent conditioning of learner's preference to brevity over substance is outlined, with emphasis placed on "modelling of high-quality responses".
Heavy Reliance on Rote Techniques
Teachers are systematically guided on carrying out practices that should equip learners to answer questions specific to marking criteria such that they get maximum marks. Suggested techniques like academic sentence starters and paragraph scaffolds, risk teachers getting high results using rote methods at the expense of developing highly adaptive learners.
This is exacerbated by the heavy reliance on using past examination papers to teach learners subject matter, with educators believing that by expediting processes to teach syllabi, learners can be better prepared for examinations.
Extinction of Reflective Thinking and Developing Logic
The development of logic through First Principles, inherently takes longer for learners to complete syllabi as it emphasizes on the usage of techniques supporting the core understanding of the "why", aiming for learners to see how things are connected to form more complex things. Because of the unfeasibility in time and resources (overpopulated & dilapidated classrooms) , teachers have increasingly favored rote techniques over those of a reflective nature, which has in return bore record marks in matric learners.
Curriculum goals
One of the main goals of the current Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), is "improving education quality by setting high, standardized knowledge and skill requirements, promoting active, critical learning, and ensuring inclusivity and social justice". The Diagnostic report shows the end-result of a highly honed learner pool who excel at grasping techniques without being able to apply them critically.
With approximately 927 000 learners writing exams, only 345 857 (37%) achieved admission to bachelor studies. Additional solutions are needed to improve the quality of learner results, furthermore to meet our curriculum goals.
What's Next
One of the key causes of a lack in quality in results, is down to the strain in resources forcing teachers to adapt to more practicable methods at the peril of learners having a quality education. At Chelo, we believe true development is quality driven, and with valor, we accept the challenge to be a national leader in developing education such that teachers do not encounter moral dilemma issues due to resources.
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