Illegitimate tasks of primary school teachers at selected schools in the Western Cape: A reality for a developing country?

Abstract

In South Africa, there are numerous signs indicating that there is a crisis in education (Modisaotsile, 2012). Despite the report of the Department of Basic Education (DBE) that the annual pass rate of Grade 12 students improved from 78.20% in 2018 (2019, p. 2) to 81.30% in 2019 (2020, p. 6), of the 1 171 323 learners enrolled for Grade 1 in 2007 (DBE, 2009, p. 9), only 400 761 passed the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination in 2018 (DBE, 2019, p. 44). Similarly, 1 122 114 learners were enrolled for Grade 1 in 2008 (DBE, 2010, p. 11), but only 409 906 of these students passed their NSC examination in 2019 (DBE, 2020, p. 7). These figures indicate that more than 50% of learners who enrolled for Grade 1 in 2007 and 2008, respectively, did not complete the Grade 12 NSC qualification in 2018 and 2019.