Results quality improved, says MEC
“However, it is a great improvement from the 26.4% in 2009 when this current government took over,” said Schäfer.
She said similarly, the quality of those passes had also improved.
“Quintile 1-3 schools have increased their Bachelor pass rate from 10.4% in 2009 to 27.4% in 2019. This is a 17 percentage point increase compared to a 9.8 point increase in Quintiles 4 and 5.”
Schäfer reiterated the importance of retaining quality at the top end while ensuring that there were improvements from the bottom.
“We will continue our efforts to further close the inequality gap in the years to come,” she said.
Schäfer visited Paarl Gimnasium High School yesterday. The school achieved a 98.7% pass rate, and made history by producing South Africa’s top matric pupil, Madelein Dippenaar.
Dippenaar said she hasn’t figured out what she wants to do with her life yet, but plans to study a BSc in Molecular Biology at Stellenbosch University.
The second top achiever in the country, Gary Allen, also comes from the province, from Rondebosch Boys’ High School, and third-placed achiever in the country Anuoluwa Makinde is from Milnerton High School.
The province also recorded the top two mathematics candidates in the country: Timothy Murphy, from Rondebosch Boys High School, whose dream is to pursue a career in Actuarial Sciences at UCT, and Ivan Badenhorst, from Outeniqua High School in George.
Anther school that improved its percentage pass rate was Ihlumelo Junior Secondary – up by 21.3 percentage points, from 56.5% to 77.8%, and Bachelor pass rate up from 25% to 48% (25 to 48 candidates).
Ashton Public Combined School’s pass rate went up 28.9% points, from 52% in 2018 to 80.9% in 2019, while Silversands Secondary improved by 21 percentage points, from 70.8% to 91.8%, St Andrew’s Secondary’s pass rate went up by 21.7 percentage points, from 50% to 71.7% (with 46 extra candidates writing), Esangweni Secondary was up 27.3 percentage points, from 41.7% to 69% and Goudini High school gained 29.6 percentage points, from 62.4% to 92%.
Education expert Professor Beverly Thaver, deputy dean of the Faculty of Education at UWC, said the recorded pass rate signalled confidence and that it, in turn, reached into the minds and hearts of the nation.
“We are witness to a cohort of youth who see the system as being legitimate.
“There are strong indications that the figure is credible and has validity insofar as there has not been much, if any, moderation – given the decision around not manipulating the mathematics result,” Thaver said.
“Beyond the celebrations is the pertinent question: what happens now? The 2019 cohort yielded a great increase in learners qualifying for Bachelor studies; can everyone be accommodated at the country’s higher education institutions?
“Therefore, there is what could be defined as an ‘absorption challenge’ related also to the economy. The current economic crisis impacts on employment prospects.”
Thaver said another factor to consider was the role of technology and its impact on teaching and learning.
“The question here is: how does information communication technology revolutionise teaching and learning? Perhaps it is time to try to understand how learners are using the internet in innovative ways, finding information that then makes for high levels of achievement.
“We should consider how attuned our pedagogies around the Fourth Industrial Revolution are and to what extent teacher training is rising to this new way of thinking and living,” Thaver added.