8 January 2020
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Free State Province congratulates the class of 2019 for completing their National Senior Certificate (NSC) and achieving best national record of 81.3 percent pass rate. We further commend the Free State province for contributing the highest percentage of 88.4 percent to the continuing national effort of improving the NSC percentage and quality of results. In this regard, we congratulate MEC of Education, Comrade Tate Makgoe, whose sterling leadership has ensured consistent good results over the years.
The SACP in Free State is particularly impressed by the fact that 50 percent of schools in quantile 1 to 3 obtained an overall 80 percentage pass rate, with increased number of leaners securing admission to bachelor studies. Schools in quantile 1 to 3 are “no-fee” schools generally located in townships and rural areas populated mostly by working class and poor families.
Despite the persisting inequalities that still exist in the education system, provinces, such as the Free State, with large number of schools in quantile 1 to 3 achieved commendable outcomes. We commend Fezile Dabi District and a highly underdeveloped district of Xariep for being amongst the top 10 performing districts in the country.
We congratulate the executive and administrative leadership of the Department of education in our province, the teachers- and SADTU in particular, school governing bodies, parents and the entire schooling community. It takes a community to educate a child and therefore these results reflect the hard work and contributions of all social partners in the sector.
We urge the Department of Basic Education to move with speed in integrating the Early Childhood Development (ECD) programme in its systems, systematically rolling out the modernisation of the classroom through the introduction and expansion of digital information and communication technologies and applications. The systematic retraining of teachers should be a key feature of enabling this modernisation effort. In this regard, adequate resourcing of the under-resourced schools is necessary to close the inequality gap in the system, and will also achieve a seamless and aligned transition by learners from basic to higher education in pursuit of the interrelated task of ultimately producing an educated, skilled and capable workforce for the country.
The SACP appeals that the results must not be viewed with a narrow destructive comparison and competition between provinces, districts, schools and leaner to leaner. Such an approach could erode the possibility of drawing important lessons from the required thorough scientific and technical assessment and evaluation of the results and associated diagnostic and technical reports. A destructive comparison can also have dire consequences such as leading to suicidal actions by leaners who did not make it.
The SACP in the Free State comforts those who did not make it and urges them to consider several alternative avenues available such as the Department’s second chance matric support programme.
We advise those who choose colleges to be careful of illegal non-registered colleges and firstly verify the authenticity of their chosen colleges via the toll-free number 0800 872 222 or check the register of legitimate private colleges on www.dhet.gov.za/resources/registers.
Issued by the SACP Free State Province
Contact:
Bheke Stofile – SACP Free State Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 071 600 4899
Phillip Kganyago – SACP Free State Provincial Spokesperson
Mobile: 071 896 0157
