SPECIAL CONDONATION DISPENSATION
Low maths pass mark ‘creates false hopes’
An education specialist warns the department’s move fails to deal with the underlying issues around the dismal maths pass rate
The lowering of the maths pass mark to 20% for certain grades in school has been criticised as creating false expectations among teachers and pupils. The Department of Basic Education announced the special condonation dispensation this week allowing pupils who do not achieve 40% in maths to be pushed to the next grade if they pass all other subjects. Education specialist Jacques du Plessis said it posed the risk of creating unrealistic expectations and did not deal with the underlying issues around the dismal maths pass rate. Du Plessis, a maths education lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, said the condonation dispensation and appeal process opened the door for pupils with low marks to appeal against their previous failures under the false expectation that they could do better.
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