Matric results: Western Cape is top of the class

The Democratic Alliance (DA) congratulates the class of 2011 Grade 12 learners, their teachers, principals and parents in the successful completion of the National Senior Certificate (NSC).

The 70.2% that passed did so because of the cumulative effort they put in. Success always depends on preparation and sustained effort. A world of opportunity now lies before them.

When broken down by province, the results show that provincial government departments had differing degrees of success. Top of the class was the Western Cape, with an 82.9% pass rate - an increase of 6.1 percentage points on last year.

Seven years of ANC government in the Western Cape saw a drop in the provincial pass rate of 11.6 percentage points, from 87.3% in 2003 to 75.7% in 2009. In 2010 - the DA's first full year in government - we began to arrest the decline that had begun under the ANC, improving the pass rate to 76.8%.

This year's pass rate of 82.9% confirms this upward trajectory under the DA and it shows that getting the basics right in education can improve our children's education step by step. This means teachers who are present, punctual and prepared, school management that is competent and accountable and a provincial education department that is efficient and responsive.

Nationally, this is the first time since 2004 that we have broken through the 70% pass rate barrier. To sustain and improve on this success, the national government will need to focus on:

• Retaining more learners in schools from Grade 1 to Grade 12. Of the 1,318,932 learners who enrolled in Grade 1 in 1999, only 537,543 (40.7 per cent) ended up writing the 2010 NSC examinations.
• Increasing the number of learners who qualify for acceptance to university and college. Last year, only 20.2% qualified for bachelor-level studies at univeristy, and for colleges, only 23.3% qualified to study for diplomas and 19.2% for certificates. 37.3% who passed failed to get into university or college.
• Increasing the number of learners who pass with distinctions in all subjects, including mathematics and science.
• Increasing the number of learners who pass science and mathematics. This year the pass rate for physical science improved from 47.8% to 53.4%, a positive development. Unfortunately the maths pass rate declined from 47.4% last year to 45.3%. More effort has to be made to ensure that this figure improves.
• Ensuring that teachers are dedicated to their task by providing them with adequate training, support and resources, and that problems with resource allocation are resolved so that all learners receive their learning materials on time.

This is a start to achieving sustainable quality. To succeed in the long term, educators must pay unforgiving and meticulous attention to the detail of educational quality. Only then can we truly celebrate.

To those students who did not manage to pass in 2011, now is not the time to give up, but to redouble their efforts. With persistence and hard work, even obstacles that seem insurmountable now can be overcome.

Statement issued by Dr Wilmot James MP, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, January 4 2011

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