By ASANDA NINI and ARETHA LINDEN
The Eastern Cape achieved a 65% matric pass rate in 2017 – a drastic improvement of 5.7 percentage points from the class of 2016’s 59.3%.
However, the province, which has for the past seven years been at the bottom of the matric pass rate, once again came last.
This was revealed by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga last night when she released the matric results from Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
In 2017, more than 800000 learners across South Africa sat for matric examinations, with just more than 105000 of those coming from the province. While the province was at the bottom again, it was also the second best performing province in terms of an improvement in results.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest improvement, up 6.4 percentage points, while Limpopo also improved.
The Daily Dispatch understands that the improvement comes while the number of those pupils who had achieved a bachelor’s pass increased from 18000 in 2016 to more than 22000 last year.
Releasing the results, Motshekga said she had “noted the upward trend in the performance of our three most rural provinces, namely, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo”.
In 2013, the Eastern Cape, with a 64% pass rate, was the only province to score under 70%.
The class of 2016 registered a 59.3% pass rate, the only province to score under 60%.
In 2017, the top achieving province was the Free State, with an 86% pass rate.
It was followed closely by Gauteng at 85.1% and Western Cape at 82.7%.
The North West achieved a 79.4% pass, Northern Cape 75.6%, Mpumalanga at 74.8%, while KZN stands at 72.8% and Limpopo at 65.6%.
The Eastern Cape could have achieved a 65.8% pass rate if progressed pupils were excluded from the count. That would translate to a 2.5% increase compared to 2016.
Motshekga said more than 107000 pupils who wrote last year’s exams across the country were progressed to Grade 12 after repeating Grade 11 more than once.
The provincial education department’s administration head Themba Kojana said the improvement showed the province was on the right track.
“We have laid a solid foundation for this improvement through our education systems transformation plan (ESTP) which has been the brainchild of the department, the office of the premier and the provincial treasury.
“Through such plan we managed to strengthen accountability, especially from serial non-performing school principals, while we also managed to strengthen our monitoring and support,” said Kojana.
The Bhisho legislature’s education portfolio committee chair, Fundile Gade also welcomed the improvement, saying it showed that there was now consistency and stability in the provincial education department.
Gade said it was most interesting that the province was the second best province in terms of improving on results, while most have declined.
However, he said one of the challenges faced by the province and which will still affected its matric outcomes going forward, was the massive number of those enrolled to write matric every year.
“We are a province with the highest number of enrolled learners at over 100000, and that sometimes becomes a challenge which we need to deal with,” Gade said.
Gade further said the improvement was as a result of the ESTP, which is in its second year of implementation.
“When we adopted the plan two years ago we targeted a 70% pass rate in its third year of implementation.
“This latest improvement, in the second year of this plan, proves that we are more than capable of reaching the envisaged 70% mark when the 2018 results are announced this time next year,” he said.
Provincial education department authorities are scheduled to release the detailed provincial picture during a briefing in East London this morning.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro education district will be announced as the best performer in the Eastern Cape in 2017, with a 72.6% pass mark.
It is followed closely by Sarah Baartman district, which achieved a 71.8% pass rate, while the OR Tambo inland district (formerly Qumbu district), came third, but was the best performer when it comes to improved results.
This after the mostly rural district managed an over 10% improvement in their results, from 58% in 2016, to just over 69% in 2017. — asandan@dispatch.co.za/arethal@dispatch.co.za
Joy at Eastern Cape pass rate
The Eastern Cape achieved a 65% matric pass rate in 2017 – a drastic improvement of 5.7 percentage points from the class of 2016’s 59.3%.
However, the province, which has for the past seven years been at the bottom of the matric pass rate, once again came last.
This was revealed by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga last night when she released the matric results from Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
In 2017, more than 800000 learners across South Africa sat for matric examinations, with just more than 105000 of those coming from the province. While the province was at the bottom again, it was also the second best performing province in terms of an improvement in results.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest improvement, up 6.4 percentage points, while Limpopo also improved.
The Daily Dispatch understands that the improvement comes while the number of those pupils who had achieved a bachelor’s pass increased from 18000 in 2016 to more than 22000 last year.
Releasing the results, Motshekga said she had “noted the upward trend in the performance of our three most rural provinces, namely, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo”.
In 2013, the Eastern Cape, with a 64% pass rate, was the only province to score under 70%.
The class of 2016 registered a 59.3% pass rate, the only province to score under 60%.
In 2017, the top achieving province was the Free State, with an 86% pass rate.
It was followed closely by Gauteng at 85.1% and Western Cape at 82.7%.
The North West achieved a 79.4% pass, Northern Cape 75.6%, Mpumalanga at 74.8%, while KZN stands at 72.8% and Limpopo at 65.6%.
The Eastern Cape could have achieved a 65.8% pass rate if progressed pupils were excluded from the count. That would translate to a 2.5% increase compared to 2016.
Motshekga said more than 107000 pupils who wrote last year’s exams across the country were progressed to Grade 12 after repeating Grade 11 more than once.
The provincial education department’s administration head Themba Kojana said the improvement showed the province was on the right track.
“We have laid a solid foundation for this improvement through our education systems transformation plan (ESTP) which has been the brainchild of the department, the office of the premier and the provincial treasury.
“Through such plan we managed to strengthen accountability, especially from serial non-performing school principals, while we also managed to strengthen our monitoring and support,” said Kojana.
The Bhisho legislature’s education portfolio committee chair, Fundile Gade also welcomed the improvement, saying it showed that there was now consistency and stability in the provincial education department.
Gade said it was most interesting that the province was the second best province in terms of improving on results, while most have declined.
However, he said one of the challenges faced by the province and which will still affected its matric outcomes going forward, was the massive number of those enrolled to write matric every year.
“We are a province with the highest number of enrolled learners at over 100000, and that sometimes becomes a challenge which we need to deal with,” Gade said.
Gade further said the improvement was as a result of the ESTP, which is in its second year of implementation.
“When we adopted the plan two years ago we targeted a 70% pass rate in its third year of implementation.
“This latest improvement, in the second year of this plan, proves that we are more than capable of reaching the envisaged 70% mark when the 2018 results are announced this time next year,” he said.
Provincial education department authorities are scheduled to release the detailed provincial picture during a briefing in East London this morning.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro education district will be announced as the best performer in the Eastern Cape in 2017, with a 72.6% pass mark.
It is followed closely by Sarah Baartman district, which achieved a 71.8% pass rate, while the OR Tambo inland district (formerly Qumbu district), came third, but was the best performer when it comes to improved results.
This after the mostly rural district managed an over 10% improvement in their results, from 58% in 2016, to just over 69% in 2017. — asandan@dispatch.co.za/arethal@dispatch.co.za
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