Investigate why pupils fail maths – Naptosa

Promoting pupils who fail maths is not the issue – the Department of Basic Education should be dealing with the underlying problem of why they are failing the subject.

This is according to teacher unions‚ who were reacting to the department’s instructions to public schools to condone all grade 7 to 9 pupils who have obtained 20% in mathematics.

On December 2‚ the department released a circular on a special condonation dispensation for pupils in grades 7 to 9.

“There is nothing wrong with the principle of the circular,” National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA (Naptosa) executive director Basil Manuel said.

“We understand an intervention has to be made‚ but this opens a door to investigate the causes of this problem [pupils failing maths].”

Manuel said it did not make sense that pupils in grades 7 to 9 were required to obtain a 40% pass mark for maths‚ while those in grades 10 to 12 needed a 30% pass mark.

“Why are there differentiations in pass requirements? We have asked the department to look into this.”

He said the timing of sending out the circular was bad.

“The circular was signed on December 2 when promotion schedules had already been signed.

“There are high schools that closed [last month]. This should have been addressed earlier. This is poor planning‚” Manuel said.

The department said yesterday the urgency of issuing the circular arose from reports it had received from principals and provincial officials across the country alerting it about the extremely poor performance of senior-phase pupils due to the compulsory requirement of pupils having to pass maths with 40%.

“The circular does not undermine the policy intention of CAPS [Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement] on raising the bar in terms of promotion requirements by having taken the bold step of making maths a compulsory promotion requirement,” department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said.

“Nor does it limit efforts to improve mathematics attainment.

“However‚ in raising standards there is a need for a gradual transition to the higher envisaged standards, hence this policy review that is under way and this interim condonation dispensation.”

Chris Klopper, of the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwyserunie, said pupils should not have to suffer because they only failed maths

“Kids cannot be penalised if they don’t have an aptitude for maths,” Klopper said.

He said the intention of the department was to assist pupils who had difficulty with maths‚ but did well in other subjects.