Kudos to the teachers of the 2018 Eastern Cape Matric class for a job well done.
To achieve 70.5 % in the National Senior Certificate examinations after years of consistent underperformance is no mean feat.
Regrettably, this happened after the passing of MEC Mandla Makupula. He is one provincial minister who ran the gauntlet of a torrent of abuse from many quarters as the province was consistently at the bottom of the pile.
Several times there were calls for his head but he soldiered on with his plan to turn things around.
The department also deserves a well-earned pat on the back. However, there is no time to rest on laurels as much still needs to be done.
What also makes the recently released matric results more remarkable and pleasing is the performance of so-called “township and rural schools”.
It is often expected they will perform below par owing to the challenges they have.
These schools lag behind the former Model C schools in terms of resources, and their teachers are constantly accused of lacking commitment and passion for education.
The fact of the matter is that not all teachers in township schools are bad – a good number work extremely hard and have the interest of their learners at heart.
Some work under trying circumstances and they are prepared to go the extra mile and do not expect anything in return. We need to be cautious that we do not tar all teachers with the same brush of condemnation.
As quick as we are to condemn, we should be that quick to give credit where it is due.
A learner from Nyanga High School in Engcobo was the star pupil as he came top in the province and second nationally. The young man, Avukile Nkayi, has put Engcobo on the map for all the right reasons.
Not so long ago the rural hamlet burst onto the national stage owing to the shenanigans of the Mancoba brothers and their dreaded Seven Angels Ministry Church.
It is all very well for some to argue that matric results are not a true reflection of the challenges that are in the system.
They cite structural problems like resources, dropout rates and the “culling” of underperformers to boost pass rates.
One has to admit that all these arguments have merit and the problems highlighted do indeed exist.
Where I would differ is when they over-exaggerate these problems.
They tend to make as if the department and the schools are not doing their level best to address them.
Of course, the department may not be covering itself in glory through its tardiness in addressing these challenges.
A few court cases over the past year (lodged by Equal Education on behalf of schools), have proven this.
On the culling of underperformers for the purpose of boosting pass rates I am absolutely against that. Good results should not come at the expense of the sacrifice of learners with limited abilities.
There are many interventions that a school can embrace to assist learners with limited abilities.
The Basic Education Department came with idea (in the past three years) that no learner should fail a grade more than once – these learners with limited abilities should be progressed to the next grade, as constantly failing them is dispiriting and can result in dropouts and unforeseen social problems.
These “progressed learners” are allowed to write a minimum of two matric subjects a year until they finish their matric.
Records show that these progressed learners don’t negatively impact the final matric results.
This arrangement is meant to help them cope with just enough workload to progress ahead.
Some of these learners are channelled to vocational training institutions as their talents and abilities are not necessarily academic but could be technical or mechanical.
Dropouts are a bane of many educational systems the world over.
The reasons for this phenomenon are varied and cannot be confined to the school systems alone.
Problems at home do cause other learners to leave school.
A child from a family whose adults have been victims of the Aids epidemic and has the onerous task of looking after his or her siblings is more likely to drop out of school than a child from a well-functioning home.
So is a child from an abusive home likely to drop out of school.
It is thus incumbent on the state to address some of the societal issues that lead to school dropouts to assist schools to stem the tide.
The Eastern Cape education department needs to know that it cannot rest on its laurels but has to work hard to improve on these results.
The bar has to be set higher for the Class of 2019.
If possible, they should aim for 80% or above.
One of my teachers used to say that it is better to aim for the stars, for you are likely to fall on the roof.
If 80% is not achievable, at least 75% would be satisfactory. For those who did not make it, there is still a second chance.
They should not despair as failure is just an event, not a process.
--  Lolonga Tali is an educator, a trained journalist and an independent political analyst based in King William’s Town..