Cape matriculants shine

ANC not happy with performance of schools in ‘poor and gang-infested areas’

MORE than 50000 matric candidates in the Western Cape had the opportunity to receive their results yesterday.

This as anxious high school principals and teachers eagerly waited to see how their districts and schools fared.

According to the results breakdown issued by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) yesterday, the Metro North education district achieved the highest pass rate in the province – 86.3% – followed by the Overberg district with 86% and the Eden and Central Karoo district with 84.1%. The West Coast district achieved 83.8%, Metro Central 83.4%, Metro South 81%, Cape Winelands 80.7%, and Metro East 78.3%.

ANC deputy chief whip in the legislature and provincial spokesperson on education Khalid Sayed said the WCED failed to support the Metro East district, “as it bears poor communities and the gang-infested areas”.

The district, which serves more than 5000 teachers and 175504 pupils at 171 schools, includes Bellville, Blue Downs, Eersterivier, Wesbank, Brackenfell, Gordon’s Bay, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Kuils River, Macassar, Somerset West and Strand.

Sayed said the district faced many challenges including massive overcrowding of classes and few teachers, despite numerous pleas and protests by communities, parents and teachers for the department to intervene.

“There is a lack of adequate sanitation facilities at schools, and electricity. Criminals have had free rein at many of these schools, especially in Khayelitsha, with little effort made by the department to improve school safety infrastructure,” he said.

Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said while the department acknowledged that further interventions needed to be made to give all learners equal access to quality education in the province, the inequality gap was closing.

Schäfer said over the past 10 years, schools in Quintiles 1-3 (no-fee schools) had improved their pass rate from 56.7% in 2009 to 73.6% in 2019. In Quintile 4 and 5 schools (feepaying schools), the pass rate increased from 83.3% to 85.7% during this same period.

“I acknowledge that there is still a 12.1 percentage point difference between no-fee and fee-paying schools.

MADELEIN DIPPENAAR (PAARL GIMNASIUM): Top overall achiever in the country.

TIMOTHY JOSHUA MURPHY (RONDEBOSCH BOYS HIGH): Top mathematics achiever in the country.

IVAN BADENHORST (OUTENIQUA HIGH): Second mathematics achiever in the country.

GARY VINCENT CHARLES ALLEN (RONDEBOSCH BOYS HIGH): Second overall achiever in the country.

ANUOLUWA ESTHER MAKINDE (MILNERTON HIGH): Third overall achiever in the country.

| AYANDA NDAMANE African News Agency (ANA) PUPILS from the Centre of Science and Technology in Khayelitsha celebrate with the Centre’s top matriculant, Sisipho Tukushe, who received seven distinctions.

| HENK KRUGER African News Agency (ANA) MADELEIN Dippenaar, centre, from Paarl Gimnasium High School, is the No 1 matriculant in the country. She is flanked by principal Eddie Bateman and Education MEC Debbie Schäfer.

| HENK KRUGER African News Agency (ANA) GRADE 12 pupils are in high spirits after receiving their results from Paarl Gimnasium.

| COURTNEY AFRICA African News Agency (ANA) SETTLERS High School pupil Estée Truter is congratulated by her father, Zane Truter, and aunt, Chrystal Bezuidenhout, after receiving her results.

| COURTNEY AFRICA African News Agency (ANA) PUPILS from Settlers High School in Bellville celebrate their results.