Matric 2019: job well done
CONGRATULATIONS to the Class of 2019 for doing exceptionally well in their exams last year.
The pass rate continued its rise with a record 81.3% of pupils having passed. This result was bolstered by improvements in no-fee schools nationally, and in the Eastern Cape, North West and KwaZulu-Natal.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the results were proof that the government’s investment in education was yielding results and the gap between rich and poor schools was narrowing.
The standouts were the increased pass rates in the previously poor-performing areas, for example, in townships and rural areas.
What impressed me the most was the progress learner policy. This has given the learners, who would otherwise have been held back in Grade 11 and then probably dropped out of school, an opportunity to progress to Grade 12.
Every child deserves an equal opportunity in life and it looks like we are on the right path, judging by how the Department of Education is approaching our education system.
The Free State was the best performer overall, with a pass rate of 88.4%, followed by Gauteng at 87.2% and North West at 86.8%. We must be proud that no province performed below 70%.
The progress is encouraging. We should congratulate all who contributed towards this.Detractors willl be there but whatever their criticism, the improvement cannot be denied. Special thanks must go to Motshekga, her provincial counterparts and the teachers. Motshekga’s task is not easy. She has to undo decades of bad education. There is no doubt she is giving it her best shot.
The Class of 2019 was offered targeted support aimed at ensuring that all learners received maximum opportunities to succeed.
Motshekga said: “The 2019 learner support programmes encompassed a broad collection of educational strategies, including supplementary materials, vacation classes…, after-school classes… NGOs, corporates, institutions of higher learning, community groups, and volunteer-based learning programmes, often worked in partnership with schools and provided highly valuable support.”
This is the core of the progress we are seeing – where everyone pulls together with the same focus and goal. One hopes that other departments will strategise in a like-manner in order to deal with poor service delivery.
It is over to the higher education system, which must not fail the young people. The country must continue its collective efforts to ensure that no student eligible for higher education and wishing to study further is excluded due to a lack of finances and/ or a shortage of space in post-matric educational institutions.
This is a work in progress, but we owe it to our young people to make opportunities available to them.
The same applies to students who might want to enter the workforce straight away. Businesses and the public sector must give them a chance to gain work experience while earning an income. The no-work experience-required policy introduced last year should help more young people find employment in some government departments. The Youth Job Creation Initiative has demonstrated that it can be done by determination and willingness to find solutions.