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Regrets, introspection as Eastern Cape scores lowest matric pass rate again

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MEC for education in the Eastern Cape, Mandla Makupula. Picture: Charles Pullen
MEC for education in the Eastern Cape, Mandla Makupula. Picture: Charles Pullen

Mandla Makupula, MEC for education in the Eastern Cape, says he regrets that the province recorded the country’s lowest matric pass rate again. 

The province’s class of 2015 was the worst performing in the country – with a decline from the 65.4 % achieved in 2014 to a new low in four years of 56.8%. 

“This 56.8% ... I really regret as a human being that we took this big decline. But ... it indicates that you can do your bit in supporting schools, and teachers having done their part and parents .... but ultimately its the learners who sit down and write a paper,” he said. 

Speaking during a media conference to announce the results at the Sterling Leadership Institute in East London today, Makupula said honest introspection was needed. 

“This is a major setback and a reversal in our overall performance. This call for urgent, honest and systemic introspection,” he said. 

The province performed poorly generally and even the top three performing districts recorded major declines compared with previous year. 

Cradock district, which was the best performing in the province, had a pass rate of 71.6 % and represented a drop of 11.3% from 2014. 

At number two was Uitenhage at 69%. It had a decrease of 6.5% from the previous year. 

The Port Elizabeth district came in third with 66%, which represented a drop of 8.3%. 

The worst performing three districts were Lady Frere, with 46.3% from 63.9% in 2014, Lusikisiki was at 47.2% (a 13.9% drop from 2014) and the Qumbu district, which acheived a 47.9% pass rate in 2015 – a 27.2% decline from the previous year. 

The results painted a bleak picture of the province’s education system. Only the district of Cradock managed above 70%, the target the provincial government set as the overall benchmark. 

The two schools that recorded a zero pass rate in the province, Jama Senior Secondary School (which had 22 registered pupils) and St Thomas for the deaf (12 pupils), are both from the King William’s Town district. 

Makupula attributed part of the decline in the results to the progressed pupils who made up to 13% of those who sat for examinations. These are pupils who have failed a grade three times, and are allowed to progress to the next grade. 

Makupula also blamed the change in the language compensation for second language pupils (a policy that awarded extra marks to matric candidates writing in a second language was scrapped) and the cognitive demand of question papers. 

The MEC said more emphasis needed to be placed on supporting teachers’ capacity and that monitoring systems needed to be tightened in order to turn the situation around. 

“We recognise that placing a teacher in front of the learner does not automatically guarantee better performance of learners nor quality and teaching. The department must intervene decisively to ensure that ongoing monitoring protocols are implemented across the whole department,” he said. 

Premier Phumulo Masualle described his province coming bottom of the class of 2015 as “a difficult moment”. 

“The year 2015 presents us with an outcome that makes us not proud,” he said. 

The premier said numerous efforts had been made to try and deliver quality learning and teaching, but what had emerged pointed to areas that needed focus and strengthening. 

“We have got to see to it that we intervene in an uncompromising manner. There are pointers already that are beginning to emerge, areas that need to be attended to with greater intensity. We cannot afford and we are truly not proud to be where we are,” he said. 

The province needed to work hard to change the situation which might also mean doing things differently than before, he said. 

“We can’t repeat the same old things; we have to work differently.”

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