南非辍学率高成问题

    This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。

    Since the nineteen nineties, education has been required for all South Africans from age seven to fifteen. Last December, the government announced that seventy percent of students passed their final examination to finish high school. In two thousand eight the passage rate was about sixty-three percent. There have been increases each year since then.
    从二十世纪九十年代起,南非所有7到15岁儿童必须接受教育。去年12月南非政府宣布,70%的学生通过了毕业考试完成高中学业。2008年学生毕业通过率为63%左右,自那以后通过率逐年提高。

    Professor Shireen Motala at the University of Johannesburg says access to basic education is no longer the problem in South Africa. She says most children stay in school until they are about sixteen. The problem now, she says, is that large numbers of them leave without completing high school.
    约翰内斯堡大学的席琳·穆塔拉(Shireen Motala)教授表示,接受基础教育在南非不再是一个问题。她表示大多数儿童在16岁前一直留在学校里。她说,目前的问题是他们中的一大批人没有完成高中学业就离开了学校。

    Students take an examination known as the matric in grade twelve, their final or "matriculation" year. Professor Motala notes that less than half the children who started school in two thousand sat for the matric last year.
    学生们在十二年级时参加大学入学考试,十二年级是他们最后一个学年,也被称为入学考试学年。穆塔拉教授指出,去年,2000年入学的学生中只有不到一半人参加了大学入学考试。

    SHIREEN MOTALA: "Only, I think, around forty-five percent survived, which means that a large number of children are falling by the wayside. And the concern is that where do those learners actually go to."
    穆塔拉:“我认为只有45%左右的学生留了下来。这意味着大量儿童中途辍学。而值得关注得是这些学生实际上去往何处。”

    South Africa has a twenty-four percent unemployment rate. Those who drop out must compete with better educated people for jobs.
    南非失业率为24%。辍学者必须与受过良好教育的人竞争工作岗位。

    Educational researchers also point to another problem. They say South African schools do not produce enough students with the skills for higher education in math and science.
    教育研究人员还指出了另一个问题,他们说南非的学校无法为更高教育提供足够多的拥有数学和科学技能的学生。

    One of those researchers is Graeme Bloch. He says many schools are not well-equipped.
    研究人员之一的格雷姆·布洛赫(Graeme Bloch)表示许多学校没有良好的设备。

    GRAEME BLOCH: "The reality of poverty and resources, that children do not see laboratories and as a result, or partly as a result, their science marks are not very good. They do not have libraries at school. Ninety-two percent of the schools do not have libraries."
    布洛赫:“贫乏和物力的现实是,学生看不到实验室,导致的结果或部分结果就是,他们的科学分数不是很好。他们在学校没有图书馆,92%的学校没有图书馆。”

    Also, education specialists say in many cases, teachers and school principals do not have the skills or training to do their jobs. In other cases, they are simply not doing their duty to provide an education.
    此外,教育专家表示在很多情况下,教师和校长没有能力或没有受过做好本职工作的培训。而另一些情况下,他们根本没有尽到提供教育的责任。

    Professor Motala says a number of teachers were poorly trained during the system of apartheid, or racial separation in South Africa. Apartheid ended in nineteen ninety-four.
    穆塔拉教授说,在南非种族隔离体系时期,许多教师培训不到位。种族隔离于1994年结束。

    Secondly, she says, teachers have been confused by the many educational reform efforts in the last fifteen years. And, finally, she thinks language differences in the classroom have not gotten as much attention as they should.
    其次,在最近15年里,教师被众多教育改革措施搞糊涂了。最后她认为课堂上的语言差异没有得到应有的重视。

    SHIREEN MOTALA: "There is the big issue of language, which we have not taken enough cognizance of, which I think is a huge problem."
    穆塔拉:“我们没有足够重视语言上的这个巨大争议,我认为这是一个大问题。”

    Subjects such as math and science are taught in English starting at about age ten. But South Africa has eleven official languages and many more unofficial ones.
    数学和科学一类科目从10岁开始均以英文授课。但南非有11种官方语言,还有许多种非官方语言。

    South Africa’s minister of basic education promises a number of improvements. Angie Motshega says teacher development efforts will focus on subject and content knowledge, and making sure the correct teachers are in the correct jobs.
    南非基础教育部长安吉·莫采卡(Angie Motshega)承诺多项改进措施。她说教师发展措施将集中于学科和教学知识,并确保合适的教师在合适的岗位上。

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