VZCZCXRO4131
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSA #0126/01 0211506
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211506Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0957
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 7511
RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN 1578
RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 9867
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 000126 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON SOCI SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA'S SCHOOL LEAVING EXAM RESULTS 
DISAPPOINT AGAIN 
 
REF: PRETORIA 000070 
 
PRETORIA 00000126  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
THIS MESSAGE IS UNCLASSIFIED BUT SENSITIVE.  IT IS NOT 
INTENDED FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. For the sixth year in a row, South Africa's 
national pass rates for its public school-leaving exams, the 
matric, have declined to just over 60 percent, down from 62.5 
percent in 2008. (NOTE: The matric is a term commonly used to 
refer to the final year of high school and the qualification 
received on graduating from high school. It also refers to 
the minimum university entrance requirements. END NOTE) More 
disturbing are statistics that show that only 35 percent of 
the cohort who began their schooling in 1998 and should have 
graduated this year took the exam, meaning approximately 65 
percent of them did not receive a high school diploma. No one 
in the SAG is sugar-coating the results; most of the blame 
has been put on ill-prepared or undedicated teachers. 
Education Minister Angie Motshekga insists her ministry is 
working on halting the decline, but flaws within South 
Africa's education system are systemic and worsening. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
-------- 
OVERVIEW 
-------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) For the sixth year in a row, pass rates for South 
Africa's public school-leaving exam, called the matric, have 
declined. In 2009, just over 60 percent of students who sat 
for the exam passed, compared to just over 70 percent in 
¶2004. In real terms, this means 217,331 of the 551,940 who 
sat for the exam this year failed. The number of pupils who 
received a 30 percent mark or higher for physical science 
plunged to 38.6 percent in 2009 from 54.9 in 2008, while the 
figure for mathematics stayed at 46 percent, the Education 
Ministry said. However, it should be noted that constant 
changes to the curricula and to the matric to improve the 
quality of education make it difficult to compare results 
from year to year. (NOTE: The 2009 matric results by race are 
not yet available, but in 2008, 57 percent of black 
matriculants passed, compared to 99 percent of white 
matriculants. While the Department of Education does not 
include results by race in any official reports, press 
articles report that results are once again characterized by 
a striking dearth of black pupils among the country's top 
achievers, as the majority of those who achieved multiple 
distinctions (high scores in more than one subject) were 
white. END NOTE) 
 
¶3. (SBU) On the good news front, the sheer number of students 
going through the education system and completing high school 
has been steadily increasing since the apartheid years. Over 
18,000 more students took the exam in 2009 than in 2008, and 
almost 20 percent of these 551,940 students received high 
enough marks to automatically qualify for entry into 
university, a slight improvement over the 18 percent who 
qualified last year. Two of South Africa's nine provinces 
improved scores: KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, by 3.5 
percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. Despite an overall 
decline in the pass rate, some 417 schools achieved a 100 
percent pass rate, including 23 quintile one schools, meaning 
they are under-resourced schools in the highest poverty 
ranking. Also, the number of schools with a lower than 20 
percent pass rate declined. 
 
----------------------------------- 
THE HIDDEN NUMBERS GIVE PERSPECTIVE 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Of the 1,550,790 students who entered grade one in 
Q4. (SBU) Of the 1,550,790 students who entered grade one in 
1998, just over 551,490 took the matric this year, with the 
remaining having dropped out somewhere along the way. This 
means of the cohort that should have graduated from high 
school this year, only 35 percent took the exam, and only 21 
percent received a high school diploma. "It's not six in ten 
that are passing matric, but six in ten who are not getting 
an education at all," according to the Centre for Education 
Policy Development (CEPD). These drop-out figures are 
consistent with CEPD's data from 1995 and 1997 cohorts as 
well. If current trends continue, CEPD believes dropouts from 
this generation will make up the majority of all middle-aged 
adults in the country in 30 years, the amount of time they 
believe it will take South Africa to right its education 
system. 
 
PRETORIA 00000126  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Moreover, not all of the 109,697 matriculants who 
received scores high enough to qualify for university 
admission will be accepted to university. The deputy 
vice-chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, Adam 
Habib, warns that universities are full and that the 
government has not adequately funded the expansion of higher 
education to permit everyone qualifying for university to 
attend. 
 
----------------------------------- 
WHO'S TO BLAME? APPARENTLY EVERYONE 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) After revealing the disappointing results, Education 
Minister Angie Motshekga said, "saying we are unhappy is too 
mild - we've had sleepless nights and agonized," and that 
"bad teachers" should shoulder much of the blame.  President 
Jacob Zuma, who has no formal education, added that "the 
government is serious about non-negotiables...teachers must 
be on time, in class and teaching for seven hours each day." 
Chief Executive of the Federation of Governing Bodies of 
South African Schools, Paul Coditz, said, "too many teachers 
lack commitment and have become despondent because they 
aren't appreciated by the community or government and no 
longer consider teaching a noble profession." USAID officials 
note that pupil and teacher absenteeism, plus ill discipline 
and late registration of pupils every year are also factors. 
Press reports also note that many parents are uneducated and 
unable to help their children with homework, or feel too 
intimidated to challenge poorly performing teachers. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Predictably, the South African Democratic Teachers' 
Union refuted Motshekga's claims, laying more blame on the 
government. They argue that teachers have not been trained to 
teach ever-changing curricula. USAID officials second this, 
noting that there are problems with in-service teacher 
training programs to improve teachers' skills, the inadequate 
coverage of the current curriculum, and a lack of 
accountability across the entire system. According to USAID, 
there is also a lack of qualified teachers, especially in 
math and science, delays in delivery of teaching materials to 
schools, and poor maintenance and cleanliness of schools. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
GOVERNMENT WILL PROPOSE SOLUTIONS; TOO LATE FOR MANY 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Motshekga told the public her ministry will aim to 
improve the quality of teaching, especially in science, and 
reduce some of the administrative burden on teachers. She has 
instructed her department to compile a plan by March to 
reverse the decline in grades. Since schools will already 
have been open since January, it is not clear how effective 
the plan will be in the short term. Motshekga also noted that 
a teacher development branch of the education department had 
recently been established to help improve teaching skills, 
but any teachers found guilty of dereliction of duty would be 
fired. Some provinces also seem to be taking some initiative, 
with lessons being offered to pupils on Saturdays and 
holidays to help teachers complete the curriculum. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Motshekga's plans come too late for new university 
entrants as plummeting confidence in the test, along with the 
government's tardiness in releasing the results, are forcing 
universities to introduce their own assessments for entry. An 
unnamed senior academic and university administrator told the 
Qunnamed senior academic and university administrator told the 
press that in three to four years, South Africa will have to 
develop a new system, as universities no longer have 
confidence in the matric exams. Many institutions are getting 
first year students to take "benchmark tests" to show their 
weaknesses and strengths, but passing these tests has become 
an unspoken criterion for admission. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) South Africa's education system should be seen in 
historical perspective; the ANC inherited a school system 
with deep flaws that during the apartheid era purposefully 
provided black South Africans an inferior education. In 
addition to curricula and management problems, schools are 
negatively affected by societal problems such as weak 
infrastructure, poverty, lack of qualified personnel, and the 
 
PRETORIA 00000126  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
scourge of HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Education can only 
address educational deficiencies, including improving the 
curricula and the matric, and create equal access to 
education for everyone. 
 
¶11. (SBU) To expect all of the obstacles to be overcome after 
only 15 years of democracy would be unrealistic. The SAG has 
raised education spending almost four-fold since the end of 
apartheid in 1994 and the ANC continues to call education a 
priority. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has set aside 
almost $20 million dollars, or 17 percent of the budget, for 
education over the next year. Unfortunately, until more of 
the deeper systemic problems are resolved, the low pass 
rates, especially in math and science, combined with high 
drop-out rates, will undoubtedly contribute to South Africa's 
critical skills shortage, feed its 24 percent unemployment 
rate, and thwart efforts to boost its economy. 
GIPS