Umalusi's response to concerns raised about the Dramatic Arts paper
Umalusi, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, hereby takes note of the concerns raised by the media and some members of the public regarding a specific question in the Grade 12 Dramatic Arts question paper written on 26 November 2013.
One of the complainants asserts that "a question... required pupils to describe in ‘much horror and detail' the brutal rape of a 9-month old baby".
The actual question reads: "Describe how you would get the actor portraying Simon to perform line 9 to maximise the horror of the rape for the audience.
Line 9 in the text portrays the symbolic act of rape by using bread and broom stick as metaphors. In response to the question, the candidate has to work out the best way to achieve this theatrically and symbolically. Nowhere is it expected of the candidate to perform a callous enactment or re-enactment of rape of a 9 month old baby.
When reading the complainant's assertion and setting it against the actual question, one can see that this is a clear example of misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the issue at hand. Several issues need raising for clarification. A considered explanation follows based on selected criteria that arise from the underpinning and stated policy principles in the subject of Dramatic Arts.
The question is based on a text extracted from a well-known play, Tshepang, by a reputable and critically acclaimed South African cultural worker and used as a setwork by one of the independent assessment bodies in South Africa. Great dramatic works are contextual, historical and socially relevant. The text speaks to addressing the scourge of child abuse, rape and violence.
The Dramatic Arts policy document refers to the selection of texts which speak to promoting and advancing redress issues including racism, sexism, classism, etc as national imperatives. The focus here is on the application of Principles of Speech including the use of engaging dramatic and theatrical techniques to engage the audience which learners have acquired over 3 years of being immersed in the subject.
The question/item focus is more about how a social issue is and can be made theatrically engaging. For this reason, the question's intent and effect is more about the power of theatre and not merely about promoting or reinforcing, as suggested by implication, the social evil of rape, abuse, etc. At a philosophical level what the subject does is to create minds free of bigotry and prejudice.
It hopes to create a critical citizenry that is culture fair and anti-bias. That some learners by implication were offended by the question, means the outcomes of the subject were not achieved and therefore the learners are conceptually conflating and fudging the real issue of not being test wise and test prepared in dealing with the levels of difficulty and complexity of the test items.
Lastly, Umalusi would like to reassure the South African public that our subject experts/ moderators remain sensitive to issues of national concern such as rape, violence and abuse.
Statement issued by Mr Lucky Ditaunyane, Senior Manager: PR and Communications at Umalusi, November 27 2013
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