Another look at the Eastern Cape NSC results

When the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, announced the National Senior Certificate results at the beginning of this year all ears were waiting to hear about Eastern Cape’s performance. As expected the largely rural province which has been plagued by disturbances towards the end of last year was at the bottom of the list. Most education analysts, commentators and even teacher union officials expressed their dismay about the performance of the province. However, the question is whether the students of the Eastern Cape really achieved that badly as portrayed by the Minister’s announcement that day. Have the analysts and company been fair to this province?

A closer scrutiny of the numbers reveals that this province has been improving on its performance since 2008. In 2009 it was only Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal which recorded an improvement in the results while other provinces were in the red. The achievement rate of Northern Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng, for instance, declined by 11, 4%, 5, 4% and 4, 5% respectively from 2008 to 2009. On the other hand, pass rates for KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape rose by 3, 5% and 0, 4% respectively during the same period. In 2010 this province registered a significant improvement of 7, 3% from 51, 0% in the previous year. Other provinces also showed better achievement than the previous period that year, which demonstrated that teachers and parents were more able than before in preparing learners for the National Senior Certificate.

Job prospects for 2011 EC Matriculants?

Eastern Cape is in the bottom of the Class of 2011. What will happen to those who did not make it? Will they all return to school? This is unlikely, especially, for a significant number of those who failed more than three subjects.

The same question may be asked even to those that managed to obtain a pass. A limited number of them will manage to enter the tertiary institutions, and the rest will stay at home hoping to find some jobs.

Equal Public Schooling in Post-Apartheid South Africa, a Pipe-Dream Or Reality

Seventeen years after the advent of democracy the South African schooling system is still divided between the rich and the poor. The rich and the middle-class parents send their children to more affluent schools i.e. the former model C schools and private schools, while the poor parents are compelled to send theirs to township and rural schools. The above scenario depicts the inequality that is evident in our country, and the two kinds of schooling systems assist in reinforcing the current status quo.

One will also find that despite the transformation of the funding formula for schools, the resources in more affluent schools are still more than those in less affluent schools. The state's funding formula is more geared towards the so-called historically disadvantaged schools. But despite that the former model C schools ensure that they supplement the smaller amount of funding they receive from the state by charging higher fees from parents and raise funds from donors.

Matric Results 2011 – Facts behind figures

The recent 2011 National release of the full-time public Grade 12 results was well received by the nation. According to the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, last year’s results were 70, 2% and showed an improvement of 2, 4%.

Although as a country we have to celebrate this sustained improvement in our Grade 12 results, there seems to be a gloomy picture behind these promising numbers. Nationally the total number of full-time Grade 12 learners that enrolled was 511038 in 2011. Out of that total enrolment the total number of full-time candidates who actually set for the National Senior Certificate examinations was 496090. Almost 3% of enrolled learners did not write the examination.