EFF STATEMENT ON THE 2018 FINAL MATRIC RESULTS
Thursday, 03 January, 2019
The EFF congratulates all the learners who sat for the 2018 National Senior Certificate exams, both those who passed, and those who failed. In particular, we congratulate those who passed against the odds of poverty and the thousands under resourced schools; the children of the unemployed, domestic, farm and mine workers, security guards, truck, taxi and bus drivers, and the entire working class. We also congratulate the teachers, departmental staff and parents, without whom our children would not receive any education.
The formative years for educational development are not grade 10, 11 or 12, it is the early childhood phase and the first 7 years of schooling. Children who receive a quality education at the foundation phase are able to think critically, analyse and process information faster. They are also able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic. The reality in South Africa however, is that quality education at the foundation phase is reserved for the rich.
In 2007, 1 171 323 were enrolled in grade one, if one considers that there were only 796 543 learners enrolled to write matric exams in 2018, it means that 374 780 or 32% of learners that were in Grade 1 in 2007, have either dropped out, have failed, or went to a FET. Meaning that any overall pass rate that is above 78% is misleading, and unable to account for the 374 780 other pupils that should have written matric exams in 2018. If we take 1 171 323 as cohort, and that 400 761 passed out of this cohort, the actual pass rate is not 78.2%, rather it is 34.2%.
This is made worse by the fact that the government does not make efforts to track if learners actually dropped out, went to FET, or join the workforce. This is the greatest governmental child neglect consistent with apartheid educational marginalization of black people.