Gauteng matrics not scared to ‘dream big’

Second-best pass rate in country with 85.1%

WHILE most matrics were eagerly awaiting their results, a special group of pupils were treated to breakfast with the Gauteng government.

Pretoria’s Jacqueline Janse van Rensburg from Hoërskool Oos-Moot, who earned eight distinctions, was Gauteng’s top performer in 2017.

To applause and a standing ovation yesterday, Jacqueline said: “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.”

She and nine top- performing matrics met Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, Premier David Makhura and Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi to celebrate the province’s Grade 12 achievements after the results were released at midnight.

With a 85.1% pass rate, Gauteng finished second to the Free State and ahead of the Western Cape in the country.

Lesufi said that Gauteng could have performed better, but protest action had disrupted schooling in the region.

Principals and members of school governing bodies, the education portfolio committee and MPs attended yesterday’s gathering, along with teacher unions, political parties, faithbased organisations and civic associations.

The DA’s education spokesperson, Khume Ramulifho, said: “Many Gauteng districts performed exceptionally well and achieved outstanding results.

“This success must be used to unlock the potential of this province.”

He said that the party was impressed by the pupils’ performances, but expected more because education was vital to South Africa’s future.

“The DA believes education is the key to opportunities and redressing past imbalances,” he added.

Lesufi, who congratulated teachers, parents, communities and the government for their efforts, said Gauteng’s matric results were no small feat.

“Despite a difficult environment arising from a rapidly growing system and tough economic conditions, we registered significant achievements in the delivery of quality basic

‘Outstanding...

education through specific programmes and interventions,” he said.

The school year had been “fraught with severe budget pressures, despite which even the poorest child has access to school and quality education”, he said.

Gauteng had one of the largest matric enrolments in the country. Lesufi said schools in the province had produced some of the highest overall pass rates and bachelor pass rates nationally.

“As a province, our contribution to the pool of young people who are positioned to transition to post- schooling employment and access further and higher education is unquestionable,” he said.

Gauteng was the second-largest provincial education system in the country, he added, with 97 284 matrics writing last year’s exams. It represented 18% of the total enrolment for the National Senior Certificate in 2017.

Gauteng was the only province that offered pupils the opportunity to learn in all 11 official languages, in addition to offering seven non-official languages.

Lesufi said this made the basic education system in the province a “global player for development”.

He congratulated top schools such as Hoërskool Waterkloof, Hoërskool Garsfontein and Hoërskool Menlopark, which were the best performing schools and whose pupils earned hundreds of distinctions and the most bachelor passes.

Of the Top-10 performing districts in the country, Tshwane South came third with a 89.8% pass rate and Tshwane North fifth with 88.9%. Tshwane West, too, performed well and were among the top-performing districts.

this province’