Pretoria – The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) has expressed disappointment with an article carried in the Sunday Times newspaper on standardisation.
The council met in Pretoria on Thursday, where it received a number of reports on developments in the basic education sector.
“The article reduced a very complex and extensive process involving well respected experts in South Africa to just an unwarranted exercise of the inflation of learner marks. This can only come from those who do not have an intimate understanding and appreciation of how large scale examinations are standardised and moderated throughout the world.
“CEM made it clear that at no stage will they interfere in the work of Umalusi by questioning or investigating their practices, as incorrectly reported in the Sunday Times.
“There is no investigation into the standardisation decisions of Umalusi but the implementation of intervention strategies to improve the quality of teaching and learning across the system that will be driven by all managers at the different levels of the system,” said the Department of Basic Education in a statement issued after the CEM meeting.
The department said it remains committed to improving learner performance and mitigating the factors that led to a drop in the 2015 matric pass rate. – SAnews.gov.za
