ENG2601 EXAM ANSWERS
ENG2601 PORTFOLIO ANSWERS
0CT/NOV
2023
Questions 1 based on Text A
Read Text A below and answer the question set.
TEXT A
How South Africa can prepare for a data-driven education system.
Published: January 21, 2021, 3.34pm SAST
Authors: Mmaki Jantjies and Paul Plantinga
There are significant disparities in South Africa’s education system. Schools are divided into
quintiles, from one to five; the poorest, in quintile one, struggle enormously with a lack of
resources and support. They also tend to have poorer educational outcomes. That has a direct
effect on university admission and outcomes.
One of the government’s attempts to address these inequalities is through technology. This began
as early as 2003 with the Draft White Paper on e-Education. These and similar policies aim
to resource more marginalised schools, universities and colleges with digital tools. This, in a bid
to “leapfrog” access to interactive learning content and improved administrative capabilities.
COVID-19 lockdowns have made this approach “imperative … now the only thing we can do”,
according to the country’s Ministry of Basic Education.
More and more, data and data-driven tools are emerging as a central feature of this digital
response. Developers of these technologies promise a new level of insight and automation that
mimics human intelligence. They argue this will bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to both
teaching and learning as well as to administrative processes. They suggest that performance
LOLA JACOBS ANSWERS – 061 825 1315 1
ENG2601 PORTFOLIO ANSWERS
0CT/NOV
2023
Questions 1 based on Text A
Read Text A below and answer the question set.
TEXT A
How South Africa can prepare for a data-driven education system.
Published: January 21, 2021, 3.34pm SAST
Authors: Mmaki Jantjies and Paul Plantinga
There are significant disparities in South Africa’s education system. Schools are divided into
quintiles, from one to five; the poorest, in quintile one, struggle enormously with a lack of
resources and support. They also tend to have poorer educational outcomes. That has a direct
effect on university admission and outcomes.
One of the government’s attempts to address these inequalities is through technology. This began
as early as 2003 with the Draft White Paper on e-Education. These and similar policies aim
to resource more marginalised schools, universities and colleges with digital tools. This, in a bid
to “leapfrog” access to interactive learning content and improved administrative capabilities.
COVID-19 lockdowns have made this approach “imperative … now the only thing we can do”,
according to the country’s Ministry of Basic Education.
More and more, data and data-driven tools are emerging as a central feature of this digital
response. Developers of these technologies promise a new level of insight and automation that
mimics human intelligence. They argue this will bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to both
teaching and learning as well as to administrative processes. They suggest that performance
LOLA JACOBS ANSWERS – 061 825 1315 1
