NATHANIEL LEE | We need to shift focus of education to building the foundation phase

A house is built from the foundation and not the roof. Without a foundation, a house will not stand firm and will ultimately collapse. Similarly, a quality education is built upon a strong foundation during the primary schooling phase, with matric representing the roof of basic education.

It is against this background that the annual gimmick of the announcement of the matric results in early January should be viewed. During this time, the minister of basic education will step up to the podium to announce the overall matric pass and celebrate those pupils who excelled in the examinations.

While it is commendable to celebrate excellence, it is naïve and myopic to punt matric results as the yardstick to measure the health and quality of the education system. According to activist group Equal Education, over-investment in grade 12 learning only produce a “superficial and misleading indicators of public education quality” while early education suffers.

Formal education starts at grade 1, which is where the focus should be to ensure that pupils are kept within the system and that the dropout rate is minimised if not completely eliminated. For this to happen, focus should shift to the foundation phase with information on the learning outcomes shared with the public so that learning challenges are nipped in the bud through the implementation of the necessary remedial measures.

The primary schooling crisis is clearly manifested through the fact that almost half of grade 4 pupils are unable to read for meaning. This is problematic because during grades 1 to 3, pupils learn to read, while at grade 4 to 6 they read to learn.

Currently, 40% to 50% of pupils drop out of school before matric. Furthermore, passing matric is not a guarantee for success as it does not equip pupils with skills that can be useful for the workplace.

For every year that the matric pass rate is celebrated, there is an increase in the number of youths who swell the ranks of the unemployed. The fixation with matric also puts excessive pressure on pupils and teachers and leads to practices such as culling, which is when schools hold pupils back in a lower grade or encourage them to take subjects considered easier to inflate the school’s pass rate.

This tactic is employed solely to avoid the underperforming school tag. The root of matric underperformance can be found in the poor quality early childhood development phase (ECD) and foundation phase (FP). For example, when pupils are unable to read for meaning at grade 4, the chances of them reaching and passing matric going on to achieve a university qualification are very slim.

Some of the challenges facing early education include overcrowded classrooms and lack of support by education officials. Primary schools are less visited for curriculum support. There is also less monitoring and support of the school management teams (SMTs) and teachers.

The preoccupation of officials, principals and teachers is on matric as the holy grail of education while ignoring what happens in the lower grades. A matric pass is overrated as it is not a qualification but an exit phase of basic education. Matric does not lead pupils to jobs or even prepare them for jobs. With SA’s high unemployment rate, youth unemployment represents a ticking time bomb.

Research also shows that many students fail to cope with university studies owing to poor learning foundations. The neglect of the foundation phase is at the root of matric underperformance and of the dropout rates at basic and tertiary education.

The obsession with matric pass rates which has become a competition among provinces has to come to a stop with attention shifted to fixing systems at the foundation phase. The preoccupation with university study is also misguided as alternate streams and qualifications can also serve the country well and reduce the unemployment burden.

The focus should be on acquiring work skills instead of academic qualifications that do not equip pupils with skills that will prepare them for the real world of work. The education system should seek to attract talented, academically strong, motivated and committed candidates to teach the foundation phase.

In Finland, FP teaching is a highly prized career choice – equal in status with law and medicine. To be a FP teacher requires a five-year Master’s level qualification with many teachers going on to obtain a doctorate. It is time the same prestige is given to SA foundation phase teachers.

The time for gimmicks and celebration of mediocrity is up. For SA to turn the education corner and build a solid country, the time for building the foundation is 2023.