By LULAMILE FENI and SIKHO NTSHOBANE
While Eastern Cape education authorities are celebrating a 5.7% improvement in the province’s matric results, a rural Libode school has only scored a 9.8% matric pass.
The underlying reasons were teachers not being paid and going hungry, no textbooks and late provision of learner support material.
Out of 238 pupils who sat for their matric exams at Smuts Ndamase Senior Secondary School in Nkanga village, only 22 passed, according to principal Veronica Tsheme.
This effectively makes it the worst performing school in the newly established OR Tambo Coastal District of education, and one of the most under-performing schools in the province.
During 2016, Smuts Ndamase could only manage a 10% pass rate, while in 2015 they recorded a 11% matric pass rate.
Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch yesterday, Tsheme said they were perturbed by the situation.
“We are pained by this,” she said, and blamed a lack of motivation from staff.
She said the school had a high vacancy rate, especially in management, including positions for heads of departments in critical subjects like science.
In addition to that, they relied on temporary teachers and walks-ins who went several months without receiving their salaries.
“Some didn’t even have money to buy food or pay rent, and it is difficult to try to motivate them. In the end, they lost their motivation.”
Furthermore, she said her school had only received revision papers very late in the year, while it had to cope with not having any books for the whole year.
Study guides were also sent to the school in September last year, while absenteeism also contributed in the poor results, said Tsheme.
The school’s physical science teacher quit in August after not being paid for months on end.
The principal, however, said they had managed to sort out some of the challenges and were now hoping for a drastic improvement in their matric results for 2018.
“In fact we are targeting 70%,” she said. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za/ sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Smuts Ndamase SSS one of worst performers with 9.8%
While Eastern Cape education authorities are celebrating a 5.7% improvement in the province’s matric results, a rural Libode school has only scored a 9.8% matric pass.
The underlying reasons were teachers not being paid and going hungry, no textbooks and late provision of learner support material.
Out of 238 pupils who sat for their matric exams at Smuts Ndamase Senior Secondary School in Nkanga village, only 22 passed, according to principal Veronica Tsheme.
This effectively makes it the worst performing school in the newly established OR Tambo Coastal District of education, and one of the most under-performing schools in the province.
During 2016, Smuts Ndamase could only manage a 10% pass rate, while in 2015 they recorded a 11% matric pass rate.
Speaking to the Saturday Dispatch yesterday, Tsheme said they were perturbed by the situation.
“We are pained by this,” she said, and blamed a lack of motivation from staff.
She said the school had a high vacancy rate, especially in management, including positions for heads of departments in critical subjects like science.
In addition to that, they relied on temporary teachers and walks-ins who went several months without receiving their salaries.
“Some didn’t even have money to buy food or pay rent, and it is difficult to try to motivate them. In the end, they lost their motivation.”
Furthermore, she said her school had only received revision papers very late in the year, while it had to cope with not having any books for the whole year.
Study guides were also sent to the school in September last year, while absenteeism also contributed in the poor results, said Tsheme.
The school’s physical science teacher quit in August after not being paid for months on end.
The principal, however, said they had managed to sort out some of the challenges and were now hoping for a drastic improvement in their matric results for 2018.
“In fact we are targeting 70%,” she said. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za/ sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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