Is it still possible to fail Matric ?

ponder said:
Ja, HG has essentially been dropped. It really is so much easier today, you just have to compare the subject content from back then to now.
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There is no point if none of the current students can cut it on HG, when I was in school HG actually meant something...
 
Blaze786 said:
There is no point if none of the current students can cut it on HG, when I was in school HG actually meant something...
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Yes I had to work my ass off to get 80 on higher grade... no fun:( And my butt hurt if I even thought of 50%

I also think it has to do with the attitude of kids these days, they want but do not want to work for it.

I wonder if you gave them the education system with the if they would use it. There is no shame in flunking or not having a grade 12 certificate.

I think it is something like you can lead it to water but not make it drink.
 
ponder said:
University entrance is not what it used to be either if I'm not mistaken, back in the day you needed at least a C on HG to study eng & sci at uni, although this was minimum it was not always enough.
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All you needed were those minimum marks and a certain number of points - guaranteed entry.

ponder said:
University or whatever will teach you how to study
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No it doesn't. This is one of the biggest failures of the school system. Not only did they leave a huge gap between the level of the last year of school and the first year of university, and talked proudly of how many would fail at university because of it, but they failed to teach how to study, solve problems and think. And as far as I can tell no-one has yet done anything to fix this idiocy.

zippy said:
Well, I got my matric in 1981, and tbh, I didnt study. To me studying was looking for your textbook the day before the exam and reading it while sunning yourself besides the pool. Im sure I only passed because they felt sorry for me or wanted me out of town or something. I only realised what a ****e education I had when I went to uni.
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School was easy. Too easy. They waste 12 years on it and at the end you have pupils who have not learned to study, not learned to think or solve problems and are not prepared for further study. The so-called high quality education we received was nothing of the sort. And if what we had here was really a high standard compared other countries, then their education systems must have been truly abysmal.

Mila said:
I also think it has to do with the attitude of kids these days, they want but do not want to work for it.

I wonder if you gave them the education system with the if they would use it. There is no shame in flunking or not having a grade 12 certificate.

I think it is something like you can lead it to water but not make it drink.
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Was there ever shame in not having a senior certificate? Depended on the individual's class and group.
 
noxibox said:
Was there ever shame in not having a senior certificate? Depended on the individual's class and group.
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Yes there was, still is. We all know who the dummies and lazy buggers was who failed.

They did not even come back to the same school, they tried somewhere else.
 
ponder said:
Ja, HG has essentially been dropped. It really is so much easier today, you just have to compare the subject content from back then to now.
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Incorrect. I can honestly say to you, that the current maths papers comprise of 50 percent SG and 50 percent HG.

Whilst it may be easier then higher grade it certainly is alot tougher then Standard grade, especially with regards to Maths. All it means now is that you have no choice.

Theres many sections done in the current maths syllabus that were not taught on Standard grade. However now, you are forced to do them.

To be honest with you, the changes are not drastic. They have made it easier to pass, but whats a pass? As useful as rust.
 
School was never hard, the education system has been changing and will continue to change....

I do agree that 30% is a ridiculousl low standard, but take this for example...
currently we have Mathematics in the school sylabas , that consist of about 80% HG and 20% SG ( so yes the HG system were better).....now if someone is standard grade material, won't it be a lot to ask from him to achieve 50% in Math?..
 
Well the change was partly instituted because not enough black students were doing Maths & Science on HG...and the quality universities in this country (UCT, Wits etc.) were saying that people must at least have Maths & Science on HG. Now this was of course a problem for the ANC government because they wanted to see more black engineers, yet the universities weren't unfairly discriminating against anyone. Years of research had probably been done by universities which showed that people who SG Maths & Science could not cope with engineering.

Now with this new system, universities have no ground to stand on w.r.t SG/HG...which can - in theory at least - make universities accept more black students.
 
Chris said:
Well the change was partly instituted because not enough black students were doing Maths & Science on HG...and the quality universities in this country (UCT, Wits etc.) were saying that people must at least have Maths & Science on HG. Now this was of course a problem for the ANC government because they wanted to see more black engineers, yet the universities weren't unfairly discriminating against anyone. Years of research had probably been done by universities which showed that people who SG Maths & Science could not cope with engineering.

Now with this new system, universities have no ground to stand on w.r.t SG/HG...which can - in theory at least - make universities accept more black students.
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Hence the change to entrance exams and competency tests at some uni's.
 
Kosmik said:
Hence the change to entrance exams and competency tests at some uni's.
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But what I don't understand is that the acceptance tests aren't that hard. The one I took last year for Maths was (I thought) below the maths we were being taught in matric. Of course they [the test] were limited by the fact that we weren't allowed to use calculators but still...
 
Hasn't Woodwork Malema already proven that its impossible to fail? :D
 
Are we in fact saying that the kids today are basically unable to learn and need to have these reduced pass rates? If you are a matric today, why should you study hard to get top marks, when you can just coast along with the rest and get assured of a pass.

As a young person, do you really not mind being shown to be an average or lower person, do you not have goals to achieve, or is that not something you need in your life?

Of course it is very easy to go with the flow, and not work hard, your folks give you food , a spot to crash, coin to party, but how long do you think that trust fund will last ?

Or how long do you think you can leech off your friends for movie tickets ? The ride does end, and if you not prepared, well, I guess you can always sell your body for dope money.
 
Of course it is very easy to go with the flow, and not work hard, your folks give you food , a spot to crash, coin to party, but how long do you think that trust fund will last ?
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I have a very big problem with such parents. For me, once my child finishes school there are two options:
1) Work - Get set on your own feet or contribute to the household financially.
2) Study - You are welcome to stay with us as long as your study, but fail and you are on your own.

There is no "year off" vacation after school, the sooner you learn that there is no free meal ticket the better for you. I had a few weeks vacation after school and then it was back to work till I left to study.

One of my friends stayed with his parents till past 25, I mean WTH!!!!! They should have kicked his lazy ass out years ago! No ambition, no selfworth, no social life. Imagine talking to a girl and going: "I have to be back at home at 11h00 or my parents will lock me out."
o_O
 
Chris said:
But what I don't understand is that the acceptance tests aren't that hard. The one I took last year for Maths was (I thought) below the maths we were being taught in matric. Of course they [the test] were limited by the fact that we weren't allowed to use calculators but still...
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Money maybe? Get lots of people to register for 1st year and coin it. They drop out like flies anyway.
 
To be honest I think I scraped matric and often wondered if I was merely pushed through (years ago) but I know from my own experience that there is much more to "intelligence" than a matric score. I do not think it reflects the nature of a persons potential. I found University far easier and yes I admittedly was lazy at school which is why I scraped through. I struggled to learn much of the subjects and math at school and it took me much longer because the way they taught did not match my own style of thinking. <-- And herein lies the clue.. as to why a matric score does not measure a persons intelligence. The real focus should be on ensuring that the fundamentals of literacy etc .. are up to scratch and that starts at a young age. If from 0-10 a child is not "stimulated" mentally + not nutritionally nourished + they do not stand a chance of grasping information "creatively" from 10-20 in the same manner as other kids.

Those basic fundamentals of math and literacy are not there with the majority so you end up having matriculates who have passed with 60% and need the bell curve adjusted & readjusted on first/second year University to ensure they pass :confused: :)
 
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