ONE night, a long time ago, I went to the home of a Cape Flats family who belonged to a charismatic church to share in their bereavement; the beloved mother of the house had died after a long illness. I was convinced I had knocked on the wrong door for, by the sounds of it, there was a raving party going on inside. When the door opened, to my utter surprise, it was the woman‘s family and friends singing and dancing in the house. “Welcome, brother! Come inside. Mommy is in a much better place where there is no pain and suffering … Glory, glory, glory!” It is a funeral because more than half the pupils who started school did not finish. It is clear that the standards of achievement are now so low that to fail requires a considerable effort on the part of the pupil. In several places pupils who are likely to fail are held back — “culling”, Spaull reluctantly calls it. Mock examinations ensure you have seen some version of the question before; no surprises will be tolerated. Boot camps ...
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