Gauteng Premier, David Makhura on Tuesday, 6 January 2015 congratulated the class of 2014 for their outstanding achievement in their Matric exams.
Gauteng province is the leading province in the country after achieving 84, 7% pass rate. This percentage represents a total number of 99 478 learners who sat for the 2014 final Matric exams.
Makhura congratulated all the leaners who passed their exams and made the province proud. The class of 2014 were the first to be assessed in the new CAPS curriculum which is considered to be tougher than the previous curriculum.
Addressing the packed Linder auditorium at the Wits Education Campus in Parktown, Premier said although this year's achievement is a drop from the 87.0% achieved by the class of 2013 this is good baseline that the province is starting from.
“I am happy but I don't want to say that 84, 7% represents our standard, we want to get to 100% which means that every year we must step-up our efforts.
“I am satisfied with the good leadership demonstrated by the department of education in achieving this pass rate and ensuring that we are the number one province on matters of education as confirmed by the United Nations when they presented the Department of Education with the UN Public Service award last year," said Premier Makhura.
Makhura also attributed the improved quality of matric passes this year to the Secondary School Intervention Programme (SSIP) which is an intervention programme aimed at improving the quality of education in underperforming schools in Gauteng.
He further urged parents to do their part in supporting their children.
“We can assure you that as government we will do our part, parents do your part, educators do your part and learners must also do their part,” he said.
Premier also appealed to learners who did not succeed to go back and rewrite their exams.
“This is not the end of the world you must handle defeat with dignity, take this time to pause and reflect on where you need to improve and go back to the drawing board,” he said.
The Premier made a commitment that the provincial government will continue to work with underperforming districts and schools in ensuring that Gauteng remains the leading province in education.
For enquiries:
Nino Zama, Premier's spokesperson
Cell: 083 473 6725
Tel: 011 355 6009
E-mail: nino.zama@gauteng.gov.za or nino.zama@gauteng.gov.za
