There are a number of systems available from which to study. The trouble is, which one does one choose?

Most of the so-called ‘elite’ private schools use either IEB or Cambridge. All state schools are obligated to use the DBE systems, which is basically CAPS.

It might help to understand some of the history of our education system as well as the history of each of the curriculum offerings.

When the current government took power, Sibusisu Bengu was Minister of Education. He was soon followed by Professor Kadar Asmal. Under Bengu, the Department of Education, as it was then known, made some changes, but the curriculum remained fairly unchanged.

Kadar Asmal took over and implemented Outcomes Based Education (OBE). In short, it meant the teacher became a facilitator and the learner drove his or her learning with guidance from the teacher. In essence, the teacher became a sort of onlooker, while the child continued working. The teacher stepped in if more guidance was needed or if the child was not going according to plan. OBE works. But here’s the thing: it really works best at tertiary level. At tertiary level, the student gets on with studying, he attends lectures or reads manuals or textbooks (some of them written by the lecturer) and the lecturer steps in when needed.

When I attended Teachers’ College, we were taught that younger learners are more concrete thinkers, but as they get older, their thinking becomes more abstract. Some children learn at a faster pace than others and in OBE, it is sometimes expected that these kids will help their classmates along with the teacher/facilitator. This is why there was always such an emphasis on group work.

But often, the kids (if left to form their own groups) would join up with friends, or all the harder working kids would collaborate, leaving the less hard working ones to form their own groups. This meant that the marks were often skewed as the hard working groups would work hard while the less hard working group would work hard at disrupting the process in some way!

Asmal was keen on OBE because he was a law professor at the University of Dublin during his years in exile.

OBE was then abandoned because it was too difficult for younger learners to do the work on their own and the Revised National Curriculum Standard was introduced. This was, to many teachers, OBE in a different form. Eventually standards started dropping and a concerned DoE (as the Department of Education) was then called. They asked retired teachers and other stakeholders what the problem might be and how it could be fixed. The consensus was that there was far too much emphasis placed on testing and evaluation. This meant marking work and left little time to teach the actual syllabus. And so CAPS was introduced.

CAPS stands for Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. In essence, the Department looked at the corporate world and tried to mould the model for a school environment. Forgetting of course, that schools have children of different ages from 6 to 18 or 19 but insisting that corporate standards be applied.

Sadly however, the standards seem to vary from year to year. In the past 40% was required, then it became 50% for English and 40% for everything else. Now you can get 50% for English, 40% in three other subjects and 30% in another two! 30%? Why bother with that? Why not 20 or 10?

The DBE is of course reluctant to fail students, arguing that it costs the taxpayer about R150000 a year to educate one child. State schools charge a fee and are then subsidised by the state from taxes. The incentive then becomes to move students through the system and deal with academic issues later.

The IEB is the Independent Examinations Board and is the examining arm of ISASA. ISASA is the Independent Schools Association of South Africa. The IEB is just a new name for the original JMB (Joint Matriculation Board) Examination. Its panel of examiners and markers are made up of current educators who are experts in their field. For example, the headmaster of one of the schools I taught in also served as the History examiner for the IEB. Exam Moderators are also current teachers, some of them in management positions, who oversee the papers and their marking process.

When I was at school, we were told proudly that the JMB/IEB papers were harder because they asked more thinking-type questions. So, a typical History question might start off with an easy “Which British Leader returned from talks with Hitler and made the ‘winds of change’ speech?” This was your ‘starter for ten’ (as they say in quiz shows). The next two questions would be either two paragraphs type questions or an essay in which the learner would be expected to show his/her knowledge by stating facts and arguing his/her case. This is very much like it is done in university. In other words, you didn’t just write down answers, but you had to use the information and then substantiate its use. Learners who use the IEB system tend, in most instances, to do better at university.

The Cambridge system is quite similar to the IEB system. Many schools have adopted it because of its high standards and because it is international. The South African system is seen as a bit of a joke by other countries, especially when one considers the standards used to pass and promote children.

The Cambridge system has A Levels and O Levels. The O Levels have been replaced by the GCSE or IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education. A Levels (Advanced Levels) are a higher qualification and consist of AS Level, which is done first, then the A2 Level. They combine to make the A Levels. These offer more subjects at an advanced level than GCSEs.

Interestingly, O Levels were changed to GCSEs because they were considered too difficult. The reason for this is that they used negative marking. The JMB also used negative marking. Negative marking meant points could be deducted for poor handwriting, untidy presentation and bad spelling. I remember seeing instructions to take up to two percent off for each of these offences for a Benchmarking test I had to mark. That meant you could have up to 15% deducted off, say a distinction of 80% and only 65% or getting 25 when you could have just passed with 40. All because of carelessness.

This is not to say state schools are bad. We have some excellent state schools because the teachers they employ are good and, in some cases, because those schools have ethos. In some instances, there are good schools that have become so bogged down in red tape and bureaucracy, that teaching and learning takes second place to collecting statistics and ticking boxes and checklists.

If you wish to choose a system, check what it offers. In home-schooling we have that freedom to pick the best of each. Add to what you have or take out what you don’t need, keeping in mind the performance and academic standards. We want the very best for our children, but the very best doesn’t have to cost a fortune.