Why are learners allowed to leave school at the age of 15?

This is a topic that had the country stirred up last night and is one of the trending topics on Twitter and other social media platforms.

The Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has revealed government plan to get learners to leave school at the age of 15 which is when they complete grade 9.

Motshekga said so in her speech at the 9th SADTU National Congress held at Nasrec, and stirred up a lot of controversy in the process: She revealed the government’s plans to allow students to leave school at the end of Grade 9, with an alternative set of qualifications.

She explained that a new cycle of evaluation was being planned at strategic levels of education, culminating with the achievement of a General Education Certificate (GEC) before going onto Matric. Students as young as 15 could legally leave school with government-approved qualifications – two years earlier than scheduled.

But why is the government  considering such a move? Critics have already pointed to the fact that a 15-year-old school leaver would face enormous difficulty finding a job when the unemployment rate is above 27%. There are also genuine concerns about the standard of education this department is willing to settle for.

Motshekga also mentioned that offering a GEC would help tackle the high level of matric drop-out rates. Rather than putting a better support network in place to improve the quality of South Africa’s education system, the minister seems more content to brush other solutions under the rug.

Despite everything here is what the people think about this plan.