Publications
Partners
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi is going to axe the principals of four of the province’s worst performing schools.
Announcing the province’s matric results and pass rate in Randburg earlier today the hard-talking MEC, who is colloquially referred to as “Papa Action”, said “the four principals of the worst-performing schools have kissed their jobs goodbye. They will be jobless when schools reopen.”
He gave neither the names of those principals, nor the schools. Gauteng achieved an 84.2% matric pass rate, becoming the second best performing province. The Western Cape came out tops with an 84.7% pass rate.
More than 38 000 of the province’s pupils achieved bachelor passes. Lesufi bragged that more than 17 000 of these were from township schools.
“The gap we wanted to close between the rich and the poor is now closing. Until we get quality education for the poor close to their homes, we will not rest. The only way to break the shackles of poverty is through education. Quality education will arrive in our lifetime in this country.”
He said three of the country’s top five districts were from Gauteng.
“Seven of the country’s top 10 districts come from Gauteng. Fourteen of our 15 districts performed above 80%. The only district that didn’t do well is Soweto North. But we commit ourselves to give them all our support. No district performed below 70%.”
Most of the province’s schools achieved between 70% and 80%, Lesufi said, adding that he aimed to up the bar to ensure that all schools achieved above 80% at the end of this year.
“There is no school which achieved less than 50% in Gauteng.”
Lesufi congratulated the Western Cape for outperforming all provinces.
“They knew that they had to beat the Western Cape in order to be the best. We were breathing heavily down their necks. They occupy that space temporarily and they must enjoy it while it lasts.”
About 17 000 pupils failed matric in Gauteng. Lesufi said each and every one of them would be trained, reskilled and given an internship in the provincial government.
“We don’t have a dustbin for failures in this province,” he said, adding that all the top three pupils from all schools in the townships would get bursaries to study at universities of their own choice.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura said Lesufi was the hardest working MEC in the country.
