EC pupils are still at a disadvantage from day one

The day has finally arrived for the Class of 2018. Today, the department of basic education released the results of the final National Senior Certificate exams. For more than 100,000 Grade 12 pupils in the Eastern Cape who sat the exams last year, the last month has been an anxious wait. The day signifies a critical point in their young lives. Some will go on to study further. Some will look to enter the job market. Others will decide to return to the classroom and try again.

The spotlight also turns to the provincial education department, which has for years languished at the bottom of the class. Each year brings with it yet more promises to bring change. But those changes cannot happen overnight. Many of these Grade 12 pupils have faced adversity for much of their schooling careers. Some children come from poor and under-resourced schools or have been taught in mud structures on the verge of collapse.

Others have had to share books and desks with one or more of their classmates.

Many have had to cross streams, rivers, hills and valleys to get to school and back home every day.

A shortage of teachers for critical subjects has for a long time been a thorn in the flesh of education in the province.

Many of the matrics whose exam numbers appear in the newspaper today have managed to overcome these hardships and not only graduated from the “school of hard knocks”, but excelled.

To the thousands who have failed their final exam, it may be a bitter pill to swallow.

But not all hope is not lost.

The department of basic education runs a “Second Chance” programme, which gives pupils another shot at improving their marks and earning a National Senior Certificate.

For those who will go on to further their studies at universities or colleges this year, or who hope to enter the job market, the road ahead will be one with many stumbling blocks.

These are not insurmountable.

But if the Eastern Cape hopes to achieve real success with its matric pass rate, the province needs a holistic plan with tangible results.

Until then, pupils attending some of our more troubled schools are at a disadvantage from the moment they set foot in the classroom.

Many of these Grade 12 pupils have faced adversity for much of their schooling career