CBSE Second Exam Results: 300 Thousand Students Improved Their Scores

A growing number of students from South Africa prefer contact learning, recognizing the value of the educational process in the classroom, human interaction, and structured support for achieving academic success. Despite the widespread adoption of digital learning, students are increasingly realizing that some aspects of education cannot be replaced by digital platforms.

Statistical Analysis Results

According to a report by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) on post-school education and training statistics in South Africa, nearly two-thirds of learners are enrolled in contact programs. Among students at public higher education institutions (HEIs), 65.3% were enrolled in contact programs. Furthermore, undergraduate contact students show an average success rate of 81.6%, significantly higher than the 70.9% rate among distance learning students.

Advantages of the Face-to-Face Format

Moreover, the graduation rate among students in contact programs is higher: 25% of bachelor's graduates compared to 15% among distance learning students. Among doctoral students, the graduation rates were 20% for contact programs versus 15% for distance learning. These data underscore the enduring importance of classroom learning in ensuring academic success through structure, support, and regular interaction.

Changing Attitudes Towards Technology

The younger generation is becoming more selective about which parts of their lives they are willing to replace with technology, and education is the last aspect they are willing to compromise on. Digital tools are used to accelerate or facilitate access to knowledge, but there remains a need for parts of education based on human judgment and practical work to take place in the presence of other people.

Structure Versus Home Environment

Many first-year students come from a school environment where teachers controlled the pace of work, monitored attendance, and intervened when difficulties arose. Distance learning eliminates much of this structure, while students must manage large volumes of work independently. The home environment is often associated with distractions and practical limitations, such as family responsibilities, lack of a quiet workspace, an appropriate digital device, or a stable internet connection, none of which many South Africans can still rely on. These conditions significantly hinder consistent study and often contribute to higher dropout and failure rates among distance learning students compared to their in-person counterparts.

Campus Support and Facilities

Contact learning also provides a clear separation between academic duties and personal life. Commuting to campus and attending scheduled classes gives students a routine and dedicated time for studying. The classroom environment allows for the timely identification of issues such as missed classes, incomplete assignments, or decreased engagement, giving students the opportunity to receive help before their performance suffers. Distance learning students often have to discover these difficulties themselves, seek help, and catch up without the same level of external structure supporting their connection to their studies.

The Value of the Campus Environment

In-person learning combines the stability of the classroom with access to workshops, studios, laboratories, and collaborative workspaces where students can solve problems in environments similar to those they will face after graduation. Thus, the value of campus learning goes beyond mere presence, offering students protected time, visible support, and an environment focused on qualification requirements rather than the competing pressures of the home setting.

Conclusion for Needy Students

Returning to classroom learning can be particularly beneficial for students who require additional structure and support. For those who need such structure in their lives and do not have the necessary resources and support at home to focus on their studies, transitioning to a classroom learning model can be significant, helping them avoid substantial loss of time and money, while better preparing them for graduation and the future.

Andries Nel, Deputy Minister of Justice, shared advice with law students, emphasizing that despite the possibility of using artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal field, the human element can never be replaced by machines.

Technological changes in law

During a career day for law students held at the Mahikeng Campus of the North-West University on Friday, Nel noted that future lawyers will enter a profession undergoing profound technological transformation. He compared traditional practice tools—the pen, the memorandum, and the legal report—with modern tools that include algorithms, digital platforms, data analysis, and AI.

According to Nel, AI is capable of processing vast amounts of legal information, summarizing court decisions, drafting contracts, identifying patterns, and even predicting probable outcomes of legal proceedings. He urged students to study and apply these technologies but simultaneously warned about their limitations.

The insurmountable boundaries of machines

Nel explained that while a machine can work with information, it lacks integrity. Although AI can identify precedents and formulate arguments, it cannot grasp the moral weight of a decision or comfort a victim. He added that technology analyzes evidence but cannot fully comprehend the fear of a witness, the vulnerability of a child, or the dignity of the accused. Furthermore, a machine cannot take an oath, assume responsibility, or understand justice in the human sense, which remains the responsibility of a person.

He stressed that the future will require not lawyers competing with machines in data processing, but specialists who bring to technology what it cannot provide—judgment, empathy, ethics, courage, and human understanding. In Nel's view, the task is not to resist technological change, but to ensure that technology serves justice, rather than replacing humanity.

The example of Nelson Mandela and public duty

Nel reminded students of the example of former President Nelson Mandela, who was a lawyer before that. Mandela understood that the law could be used in two ways: either for domination or for liberation; either for exclusion or for protection; either to serve power or to hold it accountable. Mandela chose the path of justice.

Furthermore, he strongly recommended that students value honesty, as reputation is one of the most important professional assets that can be lost in an instant. He cautioned against trading principles for convenience or public trust for private gain. Nel emphasized that law is not just a profession, but a public trust, and urged students to use their careers to strengthen the Constitution and help build a more just, accountable, and equal South Africa.

Concluding his speech, Nel noted that the world does not need simply more lawyers, prosecutors, or judges, but ethical members of the judicial system. He needs lawyers who understand that the law must protect the weak and restrict the strong, and that justice should not be a commodity available only to those who can afford it. He concluded that the country needs lawyers who know that democracy exists only under the condition of the rule of law.

Activist Sonam Vanchuk stated that he will end his hunger strike if the government acknowledges responsibility for recent problems in the education system, including leaks of examination materials, or if members of parliament guarantee him that the issue of accountability in education will be raised during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which begins on Monday.

Conditions for ending the hunger strike

In a post on the social media platform X, Vanchuk outlined three conditions under which he would cease fasting. He announced that he would stop on July 20th if: a) the government takes responsibility for recent failures in the education system, such as material leaks; b) he and the CJP leadership reach the Parliament doors, where MPs and leaders of various parties promise to raise the issue in Parliament; or c) if his health or other circumstances prevent this, MPs and leaders of different parties visit him in the hospital and give the aforementioned assurances while he is under illegal detention at Safdarjung Hospital, where his freedom of movement, speech, and communication is restricted.

Family Support and Protests

Earlier, on Sunday, Vanchuk's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, also stated that Sonam would end his hunger strike if politicians met with him at Safdarjung Hospital and promised to raise the issue of accountability in education. She specified that Sonam would end the fast the next day if political leaders met with him at Safdarjung Hospital and promised to raise the issue of accountability during this Parliament session, making educational accountability and reforms the main theme of the session. However, if accountability is not ensured through Parliament, he will continue to fast, and he has not broken his fast even after two days in the hospital.

Situation Surrounding Protests

Meanwhile, on Sunday, authorities deployed security personnel near Jantar Mantar in Delhi ahead of the announced march to Parliament by the Cockroach Janata Party. Police observers monitored the protest area. The Cockroach Janata Party continues to hold its protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi and called for a march to Parliament on the first day of the Monsoon Session on Monday. Nevertheless, sources informed ANI that the organization had not yet approached the Delhi police for official permission for this march. The march was previously announced by activist Sonam Vanchuk, who was taken to the hospital on Saturday morning.