Department of Basic Education defends 20% pass mark

The Basic Education Department Director General Matanzima Mweli has explained the decision to approve a 20% pass mark for mathematics for grades seven to nine.

"Principals and teachers told us that the rationale of insisting that a precondition for a learner to pass should be to get mathematics 40%, when majority of learners won’t do mathematics in grade 10, is not working,” he said.

From now on, if a pupil passes all their subjects, and achieves at least 20% for mathematics, they will be able to progress to the next grade.

The old system prevented learners who excelled in other areas from progressing, just because they were not strong in mathematics.

Western Cape Education head Brian Schreuder said “There are learners who are passing all their subjects, six of their seven subjects but failing mathematics. And as a consequence, particularly in grade 9, they fail their standard because mathematics has now become a compulsory pass subject.”

“For those learners who pass everything except mathematics, the mathematics can be condoned so that they can continue into the FET or grade 10 but not be permitted to take mathematics as a subject unless they take mathematics literacy.”

The Western Cape Department will engage with the Department of Basic Education on the matter in 2017.