THE Western Cape’s matric pass rate that was below the national average has ignited calls for accountability for the “sustained underperformance” of education officials in the province.
The matric results released on Monday showed the Free State in first position for the second year in a row with 91%, followed by KwaZulu-Natal at 89.5% and Gauteng with 88.4%.
The North West came in fourth place at 87.5%, while the Western Cape was again in fifth place with a 86.6% pass rate.
In 2022, the Western Cape was in fourth place with 81.4%, and in 2021 the province achieved an 81.2% pass rate, in third place nationally.
While congratulating the Class of 2024 for their resilience and dedication, the Special Action Committee for Education (SAC) noted with concern that the Western Cape “lag(ged) behind the rest of the education department’s ranking 5th in bachelor passes and below the national average”.
“As SAC, we demand accountability for the sustained underperformance of education officials. Those responsible must be removed, as the DA-led WCED has repeatedly failed the poor and most vulnerable learners of this province. It is now evident that the huge money-spending strategy programme unique to the DA-WCED adds no real educational value to the child’s learning process. We call for the immediate abolishment of the School Evaluation Authority (SEA), the systemic examination, (and) Back-on-track programme,” the SAC said.
The GOOD Party called on the Western Cape government to save teacher posts, as they said the results highlighted inequality in education.
“Although the province achieved an improved pass rate of 86.6%, it remains below the national rate of 87.3%, with a provincial ranking of fifth place. Despite its overall performance, the province did have successes. Pinelands High boasted the top achiever of all public schools and all 3 of the country’s top achievers in the 5th quintile, schools that cater for the least poor 20% of learners, were from the Western Cape. The sobering reality is that the Western Cape remains a province divided. Learners from less affluent schools, in less privileged areas, face the greatest barriers and the least resources,” said GOOD secretary general, Brett Herron.
Herron called on the Treasury to remove the province’s freedom to choose how they spend the education portion of the provincial equitable share, and make the education funding available as a conditional grant – “that is, it can only be spent on education”.
The ANC in the province said provinces with far fewer resources continued to outperform the Western Cape year after year.
ANC leader in the provincial legislature, Khalid Sayed said: “The ANC in the Western Cape extends heartfelt congratulations to all matriculants on the release of the 2024 matric results. However, the ANC notes with alarm that the Western Cape is below the national average in matric performance, despite the DA claiming to deliver the best governance.”
Education MEC, David Maynier said: “The Western Cape Class of 2024 achieved the highest pass rate we have ever achieved in the NSC, with one of the largest increases in pass rate without sacrificing retention. Our candidates deserve to be celebrated, because they have worked incredibly hard, and their teachers, principals and parents should also be celebrated for the support they have provided. We are especially proud of our no-fee schools this year, which have achieved dramatic increases in both their pass and bachelors pass rates. We will continue to focus on achieving quality passes for more learners while maintaining the highest retention rate in the country, because we do not want to have learners held back or miss out on the opportunity to write their matric. With a retention rate of 68.3%, we are giving more learners the chance to pass matric.”
Cape Times