The 2014 matric results were released last week, with the national pass rate of 75,8% down 2,4 percentage points compared to previous year’s results.
Kobus van Wyk, head of e-Learning at Mustek Limited, weighs in on the state of South Africa’s education system, the tools and skills needed to improve it, and how he sees South African education evolving over the next few years, with a key focus on the use of technology in the class room.
Q: Looking back to 2014, what do you believe was the biggest success and failure in the education space in South Africa?
A: Following the announcement of the matric results, there is continued concern about the state of education in South Africa. Perhaps more significant than the declining pass rate, the quality of passes and the plummeting performance in subjects like Mathematics and Science is alarming. This impacts not only on career prospects for learners, but also on the nation’s ability to build a competent workforce.
The bottom line for education remains educational outcomes like matric results, and unless the bottom line improves, the talks, rationalisation and efforts to remedy the situation are of little value. The biggest downfall in South Africa’s education is the failure to improve this bottom line and thus the quality of education in the country.
Q: What would you attribute the 2014 lower matric pass rate to, and what is your biggest concern about these results?
A: The main factor is the poor quality of teaching and lack of appropriately skilled teachers across all phases of education. It is just as important that a solid foundation is laid in Grade 1, as it is to ensure high school learners are adequately prepared for their matric exams. Far more must be done to invest in the professional development of teachers.
The biggest concern is that there is no quick fix to the problem. Even if the situation miraculously changes in the short term, we can only expect significant improvement in the long term.
Q: How far ahead/ behind are South Africa’s education capabilities when looking at Africa and other global players?
A: We are definitely not a leader. The quality of our education has recently been rated as one of the worst in the world, and even though this is disputed by the education authorities in South Africa, the fact remains that our education system is not meeting the needs of the learners and the country.
Q: Do you believe e-learning is the silver bullet to improving education in South Africa, and why/ why not?
A: No, I don’t believe that e-learning is the silver bullet. It is only a tool – albeit a powerful one. A silver bullet in a gun in the hands of a person who does not know how to aim has no value. Likewise, e-learning can only be of value if it is incorporated into an effective education system.
It is important to note that e-learning is not an established part of South African education at this stage. And while it is beneficial both from the point of providing learners with the skills to operate in the digital world, as well as offering them new, engaging ways to learn, we first need the technology itself and skilled teachers that can harness the power of this technology to improve educational outcomes. E-learning is more than simply giving technology to learners – it is about how electronic tools are used to assist the learner process. It should also not be seen as an alternative to traditional teaching and learning, but rather should be used in conjunction with these methods.
Q: How else can technology help enhance South Africa’s education system?
A: Technology is an essential tool in the modern classroom, because it is an integral part of most learners’ lives. Schools need to capitalise on this to present learning content in an interesting and engaging way. We dare not have learners leaving school without real digital skills to aid them in finding, evaluating, analysing and synthesising information to create knowledge and build skills. However, it is equally important that teachers develop a real understanding of this technology, not only to use it effectively as a teaching and learning tool, but also to protect learners from the dangers it presents, such as access to pornography, sexting and cyber-bullying.
Q: What advice do you have for students in 2015?
A: If you can afford it, get yourself a tablet – if not, your mobile phone can be a great tool too. Load free e-books on to your device and read them. The more you read, the stronger your ability to read with understanding (which is a huge problem in education at present); this will have a positive knock-on effect on all other learning.
Q: What advice do you have for teachers in 2015?
A: Set it as a goal for yourself to become comfortable with using technology this year. If you have never used technology before, learn the basics. Then think about how technology can be used to improve your teaching, make your lessons more interesting and encourage learners to interact and use technology to learn independently.
Q: What advice do you have for government and the Department of Basic Education in 2015?
A: Make sure that the officials in a decision-making capacity understand the value and use of technology in schools. During the past year, Mustek has done much to assist different education departments in this regard. For example, in the Northern Cape and the Free State, we sponsored “technology days” for senior education department officials, to inform them about what technologies are available, how they can be used most effectively in the classroom, and how they can be used to improve educational outcomes.
Q: What do you think South Africa’s education space will look like in the next three to five years?
A: Education is a complex matter and cannot be fixed overnight. I can only say what it should look like. Programmes need to be put in place to strengthen teaching, where every classroom equipped with appropriate technology and staffed with a teacher are skilled in its use.
