School ups matric pass rate from 23% to 69%

THE key to raising the matric pass rate from 23% to 69% at Somagunya Senior Secondary School in Qumbu was getting parents involved in their children’s education, instilling discipline and rooting out tribalism that resulted in violent classes among pupils, principal Zolisani Njokweni said.

The school, which achieved a 35% matric pass rate in 2015 and 23% in 2016, also introduced incubation classes and set strict goals for last year’s Grade 12s. Of the 53 Grade 12 pupils last year, 37 passed the National Senior Certificate exams.

A report compiled by officials at the Office of the Premier states that previously the school was the scene of several disruptive and delinquent incidents.

Njokweni said when he took over as principal, his mission was to bring stability to the school.

His first priority was to curb absenteeism and encourage a focus on school work.

“We had actually set a goal of [achieving] 70% [pass rate] for the 2017 exams, but we are still happy with the results because we did not fall too short,” said Njokweni.

He said they had achieved the good results through collaboration with local churches, the municipality and the police, who often conducted random searches at the school for dangerous or illegal substances.

“We introduced the morning and afternoon classes but the key was having parents involved as well.

“We also received massive support from the Magaqa St Johns College principal, who would often come to the school to motivate the pupils,” he said. The previous low pass rate was due to ill-discipline and lack of participation by stakeholders such as the previous principal and SGB, Njokweni said.

“The pupils were disruptive, and there was a culture of late-coming or bunking. Cellphones have also proven to be a major distraction and we often search for them. The other problem was the issue of tribalism which led to a lot of fights.”

This year’s success had boosted the morale of both staff and pupils, who were now eager to improve the 69% pass rate, he said.

“We started classes with the matrics a week earlier than the rest of the school and we have already started with morning classes.

“We want to get 90% [this year] and next week there will be a meeting with all the stakeholders where the pupils will make a pledge to uphold the new standard we have set,” he said.

Grade 12 pupil Thando Mzimba said she was certain that with hard work and discipline they would achieve the targeted 90% pass rate this year. —