DA requests Motshekga to establish Independent Inquiry into matric results

07 January 2016

I have today written to Minister Angie Motshekga to request that she establish an independent inquiry into the matric results, given the precipitous drop in the performance of some provinces.

Minister Motshekga has acknowledged that the declining pass rate in the populous provinces of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo dragged the national pass rate down.

Now that we have had time to study the matric results across a range of indicators, a truly horrifying picture emerges.

1. Drop in Pass Rates

The Eastern Cape’s pass rate of 56.8% was down by 8.6% from 2014, KwaZulu-Natal’s pass rate of 60.7% was down by 9%, and Limpopo’s pass rate of 65.9% was down by 7%. 

The only province that increased its pass rate was the Western Cape (from 82.2% to 84.7%). 

[See table 1 below for results across all provinces]

2. Most poor performing schools

The Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal had more poor performing schools than anywhere else. As table 2 below indicates, 29.9% of schools in the Eastern Cape received a pass rate below 40%. In KwaZulu-Natal, 28.2% of schools received a pass rate of below 40% and in Limpopo 14.3% of schools obtained a pass rate of below 40%.

By contrast, just 0.6% of schools in the Free State received a pass rate below 40%. 

[See table 2 below for results across all provinces]

3. Fewest high performing schools

The Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal had fewer high performing schools than other provinces. Only 17.6%, 22.3% and 26.1% of schools in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo respectively attained pass rates in the 80-100% range. 

By contrast, 70.6% of schools in the Western Cape achieved a pass rate in the 80-100% range. 

[See table 3 below for results across all provinces]

4. Poor Retention of Learners

The Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal saw huge numbers of learners either dropping out or being held back between Grade 10 and Grade 12:

In the Eastern Cape, 151 259 learners enrolled in Grade 10 in 2013. However, only 87 090 (57.6%) learners wrote the Grade 12 NSC examination and only 49 475 (32.7%) passed.

In KwaZulu-Natal, 263 239 learners enrolled in Grade 10 in 2013. However, just 162 658 (61.8%) wrote the Grade 12 NSC examination and only 98 761 (37.5%) passed.

In Limpopo, 183 241 learners were enrolled in Grade 10 in 2013. However, only 101 575 (55.4%) learners wrote the Grade 12 NSC examination and only 66 946 (36.5%) passed. 

[See table 4 below for results across all provinces]

5. Entrance to University

Nationally, 25.8% of matriculants qualified to study a Bachelor’s degree at University, down from 30.6% in 2013. Only 17.6% of those who passed matric in the Eastern Cape obtained a Bachelor’s pass, with similarly low figures in KwaZulu-Natal (21.4%) and Limpopo (20.7%).

By contrast, 41.7% of learners in the Western Cape and 35.7% of learners in Gauteng achieved Bachelor passes. 

[See table 5 below for results across all provinces]

6. Performance in Mathematics

KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo were the worst performers in mathematics with just 20%, 21.8% and 32.4% of learners in each province respectively achieving a mark of 40%.

By contrast, 57.3% of learners in the Western Cape achieved a mark of 40% or more in mathematics. 

[See table 6 below for results across all provinces]

7. Performance in Science

The Eastern Cape was the worst performer in science by some distance with only 24.8% of learners managing to obtain a 40% grade. Just 30.2% and 35.4% of learners in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo respectively achieved a grade of 40% or more for science.

By contrast, 54.7% of learners in the Western Cape received a grade of 40% or more. 

[See table 7 below for results across all provinces]

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The numbers presented here paint a gloomy picture in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. The fact is that a poor child attending school in one of these provinces is less likely to overcome poverty and achieve their full potential.  

This is a crisis of governance and accountability. We therefore call on Minister Motshekga to establish an independent inquiry to investigate what is going wrong in these provincial departments, and how these provinces can be fixed.

The National Education Policy Act makes provision for such an inquiry. According to section 8(1):

"The Minister shall direct that the standards of education provision, delivery and performance throughout the Republic be monitored and evaluated by the Department annually or at other specified intervals, with the object of assessing progress in complying with the provisions of the Constitution and with national education policy..."

The matric results have shown that our education system remains highly unequal, twenty years after the end of Apartheid. This inequality is a stain on our collective conscience and must be redressed. 

Statement issued by Gavin Davis, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, 7 January 2016

Table 1: Pass rates per province (2013-2015)

Table 2: Schools with pass rates below 40% by province

Table 3: Schools with pass rates between 80-100% by province

Table 4: Retention of learners by province

Table 5: Bachelor passes achieved per province

Table 6: Performance in Mathematics by province 2013-2015

Table 7: Performance in Physical Science by province 2013-2015

ENDS