Former vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, has weighed in on the matric results, expressing that they were good but concerned that 30 years into democracy, the country still has two schooling systems running side by side.

Phakeng welcomed the 2024 matric results, stating that the improvements were good, but stopped to mention that there’s very little to celebrate.

“All these achievements deserve acknowledgment, but I worry that we have become lost in a permanent state of celebration, year after year, and we forget about the other numbers behind the good results.

“But now I want to come back to reality because things are, in fact, not equal - not by a long shot. Of course, I’m concerned that 30 years into our democracy, we still have two schooling systems running side by side - one for the wealthy and one for the poor.

“All these kids will end up at the same universities or competing in the same job market. What’s the justification for giving them unequal foundations in a country that claims to be a united rainbow nation? This is counterproductive, in my view.”

Phakeng acknowledged the improvements in the curriculum but said there were still many problems with it.

“Why do we still have Life Orientation in matric? It adds absolutely no real value at that level. Math literacy is another one … there is no need whatsoever for this subject. Its message is that avoiding challenges is okay, but life doesn’t work like that. There’s nothing easy in life, and we’re doing our children a huge disservice by programming them to think they can take the “easy way out".

“They need to be taught to face challenges and keep trying until they succeed. Telling kids, they can opt out of Maths because it sets them up to fail in academics and life in general.

She added that the world is changing at a breakneck speed. However, the curriculum is still behind, suggesting that although there is talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence, the classrooms do not reflect this.

“Other countries are talking about the 5th Industrial Revolution, but our kids do not know what the 4IR is about. We’re still teaching our kids memorisation and compliance. We are preparing them for the job market and never for entrepreneurship.

“I think our curriculum needs serious and consistent reform. It must encourage creativity, critical thinking, and adaptability.”

Phakeng felt that the country needed subjects that would teach the young people to thrive in a world dominated by AI and automation, not Life Orientation.

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Matric results show improvement, yet two schooling systems persist in South Africa