I so badly wanted to enter 2011 on a positive note...
Usually by the time I settle down to write Stokes’ Stage I have a clear idea of the message I’d like to share. Today things are different. I wanted to begin the New Year on a positive note, with one of those feel good stories they usually tuck away at the
We enter 2011 on a rather sombre note as devastating floods leave trails of destruction around the globe. Thousands of houses have been destroyed in Australia as flood waters cover an area the size of France and Germany combined; heavy rains, floods and landslides have claimed almost 400 lives in the Rio de Janeiro region of Brazil; and some 600 000 inhabitants of Sri Lanka, Colombo, have been displaced after heavy rains. Closer to home we’ll be counting the costs of flooding along the Vaal and Orange rivers… January’s only half done and my “good news” ambitions are toast. And I haven’t even started on the politics yet!
Trust the political heavyweights to dampen my enthusiasm
While nature throws everything it can at those living below the 30-year flood lines (100 years in the case of those Down Under), our politicians are already testing our gullibility threshold. We’ve been fed so many lines of rubbish in the first two weeks of 2011 I hardly know where to begin. Perhaps the 1500-plus road deaths recorded over the festive season is a good place to begin. On one hand the department of transport deserves acclaim for its ongoing efforts to reduce road deaths, on the other they deserve a thrashing for allowing the politically connected to brazenly flout the law.
Two examples spring immediately to mind. The first, involves the punishment meted out to Free State MEC for sport, arts, culture and recreation, Dan Kgothule, who was trapped driving his BMW 735i at 235km/h recently. He was fined R20 000 (or one year in prison) of which R5 000 (or three months) in prison was suspended for five years. The politician, who was racing to see a sick relative, escaped without endorsement to his driver’s license and is unlikely to face the wrath of his employer. His sentence contrasts starkly with the R20 000 fine and license suspension handed down to a KwaZulu-Natal businessman for clocking 202km/h in December 2010. I accept that each traffic law transgression must be judged on its merits – but I’m not alone in thinking high ranking officials should be held to higher standards.
On 30 December 2010 another high-ranking ruling party member “tussled” with police. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s driver was pulled over for driving erratically at speeds around 150km/h whereupon one of her bodyguard’s allegedly engaged in a shouting match with two law enforcement officers. The “do you know who I am” argument reached its zenith this week with the police officers being re-deployed and facing a number of charges. I’m not in a position to comment on whether or not the police followed procedure… But it beggars belief a politician deems it acceptable to flout traffic laws to make a funeral on time. Leave five minutes early and save the South African taxpayer a great deal of trouble.
The amazing matriculation comeback
Government could do the electorate another favour by accepting their failures instead of disguising them. I’m talking here about the improbable improvement in the matriculation pass rate announced recently by a beaming minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga. The overall pass rate jumped 7.2 percentage points to 67.8%. Education specialists who have the country’s interests at heart are asking how this result was achieved given the teaching hours lost through 2010. The schooling system came to a standstill for the month-long World Cup – and a further three weeks were lost to strikes one the eve of the final examinations. Professor Jonathan Jansen, Vice Chancellor and Rector at the University of the Free State, is particularly outspoken on the subject.
Writing in The Times, 13 January 2010, he opines: “These results are not a real reflection of positive knowledge gains among grade 12 learners, and every honest public official knows that.” Suspicious are mounting in the wake of the examination body (Umalusi) refusal to make public the adjustments it made to 19 subjects! “Revealing that process – in other words being accountable to the public for a public examination – will cause major political embarrassment to our government,” writes Jansen. He believes the true test of the 2010 school year would be to publish the pass rate for the raw scores – the actual results before government and Umalusi got creative.
A big sacrifice for undeserved praise
South Africa’s youth have once again become cannon fodder for the ruling party’s electioneering mechanisms. What better way is there for government to show the youth it cares than to fix (sic) the education system? And wouldn’t you feel indebted to the man who promises to convert your student loan to a bursary – even if you didn’t bother to find out the conditions attached. Government might open the champagne in celebration today; but will be less inclined to do so when today’s matriculants become tomorrow’s doctors, lawyers and engineers.
Editor’s thoughts: In the short-term bolstering the matriculation results allows government to heap all manner of praise on its education department, but the long-term consequences will be dire. In coming years it will be easier to improve the pass rate by manipulation – with the result each fresh batch of graduates is actually less prepared for the future than before. Do you think the 7.2 point improvement in the overall matriculation pass rate is realistic? Add your comment below, or send it to gareth@fanews.co.za
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