Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, has congratulated young people from child- and youth-headed households who have obtained their national senior certificates following the 2014 examinations.
The department’s Isibindi Model – an initiative that deploys trained community-based child and youth care workers in communities in an innovative team outreach programme providing care, protection and developmental support to vulnerable children and families – supported about 1 700 young people from child- and youth-headed households through matric examinations in 2014 (up from about 550 in 2013).
74% of them were successful. In most provinces, the pass rate of youth supported through Isibindi Model is aligned to the overall provincial pass rates, as reflected by the table below.
|
Province |
Isibindi Model candidates pass rate |
Official provincial pass rate |
|
Eastern Cape |
64% |
65% |
|
Free State |
97% |
83% |
|
Gauteng |
78% |
85% |
|
KwaZulu-Natal |
65% |
70% |
|
Limpopo |
75% |
73% |
|
Mpumalanga |
83% |
79% |
|
North West |
71% |
85% |
|
Northern Cape |
81% |
76% |
|
Western Cape |
50% |
82% |
Of the successful candidates, 25% achieved a Bachelors pass (a percentage improvement from 2013), whilst over twenty distinctions were recorded among the candidates. The performance of the Isibindi Model candidates by province is illustrated in the table below:
|
Province |
Isibindi matric candidates |
Bachelors pass |
Diploma pass |
Higher certificate |
Unspecified pass |
|
Eastern Cape |
187 |
32 |
44 |
40 |
4 |
|
Free State |
119 |
43 |
33 |
3 |
36 |
|
Gauteng |
251 |
90 |
49 |
52 |
4 |
|
KwaZulu-Natal |
509 |
99 |
139 |
84 |
9 |
|
Limpopo |
158 |
29 |
45 |
39 |
5 |
|
Mpumalanga |
234 |
69 |
83 |
40 |
3 |
|
North West |
91 |
29 |
19 |
10 |
7 |
|
Northern Cape |
104 |
25 |
45 |
14 |
0 |
|
Western Cape |
10 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Total |
1 663 |
417 |
458 |
285 |
68 |
“When we started with the Isibindi Model our aim was to ensure that orphans and vulnerable children do not fall through the cracks and that they have access to all basic needs so they can continue focusing on their schooling. The fact that so many of the vulnerable children we support have reached matric, and passed, proves that our efforts play a critical role in keeping them in school and in their overall development.
“This sets a solid foundation for them and government will continue to support them as they move forward in their development towards meaningful lives. We congratulate them on their success and for taking full advantage of the opportunities and support government has provided to them,” said Minister Dlamini.
Minister Dlamini has also thanked the child and youth care workers who worked with the young people on a daily basis throughout the year.
“The provision of psycho-social support by caregivers, educators, child and youth care workers, mentors and other people close to these youth cannot be under-estimated. The importance of having someone to turn to, lean on and to whom one can speak to about anxiety are not easily measurable, but certainly contributed in the success of the Class of 2014,” explained Minister Dlamini. The child and youth care workers organised extra classes for matriculants at safe parks in the early morning, after school and evenings. Safe parks were also used as places of study by those youth whose home environments were not conducive to studying.
In other areas, the child and youth care workers organised study groups to help those young people who struggled with motivation to study or lacked study skills. These group sessions and peer-to-peer learning were cited as a major contributing factor to the 75% pass rate of vulnerable youth in the care of Isibindi Model. School study programmes were also organised by some schools in different parts of the country. ‘Camping’ sessions were organised for young people who lived too far away from their schools. Through these sessions youth were accommodated overnight at school in order to extend study hours.
Because teachers and parents were not always present, the child and youth care workers at times facilitated these sessions. The child and youth care workers also conducted school visits to provide support and monitor progress of the youth. Through the Isibindi Model, the Department of Social Development provides social support services to about 105 000 children across the country.
The department has also established the Child-and Child-and youth-headed Household Register in an effort to locate child- and child- and youth-headed households in the country in order to offer them the necessary social welfare, social security psychosocial services and other integrated government services they may require for their development and well-being.
Media enquiries may be directed to Lumka Oliphant on:
Cell: 083 484 8067
E-mail: lumkao@dsd.gov.za
