The class of 2021 has faced significant disruptions over the last two years of a pandemic and, at times, isolation. But as revealed in the matric results 2021, they have emerged with a 76.4% pass rate.
Commenting on the results, James Donald from the Department of Basic Education says âIn absolute numbers, it is a record number of young people who successfully completed the exams. That is worth celebrating because it shows a constant improvement in the support to get young people to finish, even the trying times of Covid-19. There is also evidence of slow but constant improvement in the percentage that are achieving university entrance standards. This is vital because a quality university experience radically increases young people’s chance of success. In short, the results show that we are seeing the rewards of stability in public education, and we must double down on increasing quality.â
The disruptions caused by the pandemic make it likely that education in its traditional sense will be phased out in the near future, as more people become accustomed to the efficiency, convenience and additional benefits available through either synchronous learning opportunities such as virtual classrooms, or asynchronous solutions like self-paced e-learning courses.
The Department of Basic Educationâs programme for entrepreneurship, employability and education (E3) in South Africa is working with educators to prepare students to be solution-seeking active participants in the world after school through project based learning. We live in a project-based world. Think about it. Whether youâre planning a virtual field trip or creating the perfect work-from-home space, youâre working on a project. In fact, many of us organize our tasks by projects and work collaboratively with other teams and colleagues to solve problems.
âA matric that has experienced true project-based learning, even if that is not the term they or their teachers used, will benefit because they are developing the skills to turn their problems into projects. And they have developed the mind-set that failure is itself learning, and experienced the success that comes from persistence and finding support. Even a matric who failed their exams, or did not get the results they wanted, can shake off that failure and use opportunities like the second chance programme if they have had at least some experience to know that through iteration and support, they can try again. They are less likely to give up, or feel like they have to do it all on their ownâ, says James Donald, Director of E3.
With youth unemployment at an all-time high and so many young people not in education, employment or training, the time to shake things up in the classroom is now. The future of the education system may take on this way of learning to decrease the number of students who leave schools and struggle to find employment.
âAn entrepreneurial mind set will help matrics stay curious and look for opportunities to try things and learn. If it isn’t university it can be programmes through sayouth.mobi, volunteering, or helping younger siblings. It will be saying ‘I and not spending 2022 ‘at home’ I am spending 2022 learning about myself and finding the support I need to grow and find my next stepâ, adds James.
Adopting a project-learning approach in your classroom or school can invigorate your learning environment, energizing the curriculum with a real-world relevance and sparking students’ desire to explore, investigate, and understand their world.
