Ladies and Gentlemen
We are convening here today in a period of unprecedented and rapid change around the world. In the short-term, we face the risk of another global economic slowdown. But, more fundamentally, globalisation and technological advances are transforming the way we live and the way we work. Competition is fiercer than ever, and threatening entire industries and jobs everywhere. In the past, companies would outsource work to lower-cost countries. Now they can “crowd-source”, all sorts of jobs are being placed on the internet and made available to anyone capable of coming up with the best solutions.
In this new environment, those who do well are the ones who can think critically, who can tackle complex non-routine tasks, and who can come up with entrepreneurial, innovative ideas. This is why education is so important, to enable our young to think critically and independently, and to enhance their capacity to fully harness the power of science, technology and machines.
Gauteng has been steadfast in our mission to provide opportunities for all our children to be the best they can be. Our aim is to give every child a top-rate education, and invest in where his or her aptitudes lie. Therefore our emphasis is on the quality of all our schools, and not just a few elite schools. Our goal is to teach students how to think, to be creative in problem-solving, and to keep on absorbing new knowledge and skills all their life, rather than to merely absorb more facts and data. We give extra support to children from disadvantaged or vulnerable backgrounds, so that they can stay in school, take full advantage of their education, and make the most of their lives.
Gauteng also works closely with our partners to improve the education systems in South Africa, to achieve the goals of Outcome 1: A quality basic education and the goals of the “Education For All” campaign. The realisation of these targets are critical towards the achievement of our vision of Gauteng as a Global City Region and to further ensure the realisation of the vision contained in the Freedom Charter by its 100th anniversary in 2055.
The Freedom Charter and education quality
Last year we celebrated the 56th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter which was adopted by the people of South Africa, black and white, in Kliptown on 26 June 1955. The Freedom Charter redefined the struggle for freedom, called for a new order based on the will of the people and gave us a new vision for education.
In Kliptown, calling ardently for a better and equal education we said: “The doors of Learning and Culture shall be opened”. Among other things, this education clause of the Charter categorically stated that: “Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children; Adult illiteracy shall be ended by a mass state education plan.”
For one hundred years now, we have engaged in combat for “people’s education for people’s power. It is the Freedom Charter’s vision of education that we sought to bring to life. In the face of grinding poverty, inequality and wasted national talent and potential, together we have to find a way forward to enable the realisation of all capabilities through education. We have to continue in our endeavours to find the best way forward in addressing the challenge of quality education.
Policy interventions to ensure access and equity
To address equity concerns, we have successfully introduced policy interventions targeting the poor, the marginalized, the disadvantaged, including the rural poor as well as addressing regional and gender disparities.
We have also made financial interventions to address access and equity in the provision of Primary and Secondary Education.
Turning to access, in education you all know that we have experienced phenomenal growth in the number of children accessing education. Our net enrolment rate is comparable to any first world country and we are seeing an increasing retention of learners in the secondary school phases.
In terms of gender parity, which is a crucial factor in enhancing access to education for provision of equal opportunities between men and women in this country as enshrined in our new constitution, I note with satisfaction that, we have achieved gender parity.
With respect to special needs, we have been at the forefront to integrate learners with special needs in the education system. As a result, the number of candidates who took the examination with special needs and under special circumstances grew in 2011.
All these interventions have a huge impact on basic education whose end product is the examination results released here today.
The 2011 examination results
I now wish to turn my attention specifically to the 2011 Examination results. The Grade 12 National Senior Certificate examination is one of the instruments for measuring how government is doing in discharging its responsibility of improving quality of education.
In the past years, there has been a gradual improvement but the Province’s performance was plaqued by a yoyo effect – one year up and one year down.
In 2011, we celebrate for the first time two consecutive years of improvement.
Gauteng achieved a pass rate of 81.1% in 2011 from 78.6% in 2010. The performance in 2009 was 71.8%. This represents an improvement of almost 10 percent over two years. This is an impressive performance for a province that is the most densely populated and characterised by annual growths of approximately 2% in the education system brought about mostly by population shifts from other provinces.
I am also impressed with the improvements in the quality of passes. Notably, the increased number of candidates that have achieved a Bachelor’s Pass and the increased number of distinctions achieved by learners.
I would like to begin by congratulating all the successful candidates on the passes they have achieved in this the first National Senior Certificate examination. Congratulations too, to parents, caregivers and others who gave support to learners through a challenging period in their lives.
I would also like to congratulate the officials of the national, provincial and district offices for having worked tirelessly to ensure a quality examination process and to provide the results that are of integrity and quality. Meeting this target poses immense challenges for all involved in the administration of the exams. I appreciate the sacrifice and perhaps we should always be considerate of the pressure we exert on all involved.
For those who have made it but are facing financial challenges; remember that the Gauteng Provincial Government has some bursaries for deserving learners. Get in touch with the Gauteng Department of Education on this matter. Last year alone we gave out R60 million to learners across the province.
To those who did not pass well, it is not the end of the world. You can rewrite the subjects you feel you performed poorly in again as the year progresses. This second chance will give you an opportunity to better your performance and stand a better chance of being accepted into tertiary institutions or getting good bursaries.
Those who failed also have an opportunity to try their luck again this year and should not be ashamed of repeating matric. There are many successful South Africans who have had to try their luck twice or more times to get the matric results they feel they deserve.
For those unfortunate enough not to have access to tertiary institutions, look out for the Gauteng Province Government’s (GPG) learnership and internship programmes which help skill young people and prepare them for the world of work.
We are certain that these interventions will bode well for the majority of our matriculants and help them play a more meaningful role in the development of our province.
Education quality
I now wish to make some remarks on quality of education given that one of the barometers for monitoring the quality of education are results from National Examinations or National Assessment initiatives like Annual National Assessments (ANA).
In the last few decades, public dissatisfaction with the quality of education has grown locally and internationally. There is a great demand for increased accountability for the learning outputs by parents, educators, industry and the government. In trying to meet this demand, we have adopted an array of remedies, many focused on making schools accountable for what learners learn. We assumed that if we specify the goals we want to attain and hold educators and school management responsible, learners would learn more.
If we are to see any substantive improvements in learner achievement as a result of assessment and accountability, we must be able to have a significant impact in the classroom. After more than 17 years of education reform in South Africa, we believe perhaps even a majority of the countries educators do not yet understand what proficient learner work looks like in the same way it is understood nationally. We have noticed that virtually everyone who observes classrooms seems to come away with a similar conclusion.
From all of what I’ve been saying, I think it stands out that assessment plays a pivotal role in education in all subject fields at all levels of education. Furthermore, I think it should be totally clear that while assessment forms the core of instruction in all subjects, even those with a more practical inclination, one cannot easily over-emphasize the language factor in any thinking and deliberation about the assessment of learners.
So what lessons can we learn from these results?
Educational change is brought about through sustained effort over time. Qualitative change in learning can only be achieved through intensive and sustained interventions across the system. This approach is supported from international studies and benchmarks on education system improvement initiatives.
The interventions need to be consistent across the system. We cannot afford to intervene to remedy poor performance without tackling the root cause of the problem. The approach we have taken in Gauteng is to address key feature of the problems across all grades and phases of education. Our interventions focus on the Foundation Phase, the Intermediate and Senior phases and the Senior Secondary Phase of basic education. The interventions focus on literacy and numeracy in the foundation phase, languages and mathematics in the intermediate and senior phases and in ten gateways subjects in the senior secondary phase. We are now in the second year of our interventions and we will continue to emphasise the focussed approach we have adopted. We will intensify the interventions to ensure greater improvement across the system and we will expand where there is a need to sustain the improvements we have made over the last two years.
Change is not possible without political commitment and leadership. Sustained political involvement in the delivery of the education strategies is key to addressing peripheral interference in education delivery at school level and political leadership is critical in ensuring that the key pillars of the education improvement strategy is supported by key elements of organised civil society. This proved to be effective in dealing with falling educational standards in Soweto and other townships.
We remain motivated by the leadership provided by President Jacob Zuma calling on all to prioritise education and make it a societal issue. I would like to re-iterate President Zuma's non-negotiables in education: “that teachers must be in class, on time teaching with the correct textbooks and no abuse of learners; and that learners must be in class on time learning, being respectful to their teachers and each other, and doing their homework”.
In support of this call, we held an Education Summit in Soweto last year with a view to stabilising the political environment in Soweto in 2011 and with a view to improving conditions for quality learning. We want to acknowledge that our collective efforts has realised the stabilisation of the results in the Johannesburg Central District.
However the results in this district remain significantly below the provincial average and while a number of schools performed better than last year, we cannot rest until all schools in Soweto do better and the Johannesburg Central district achieves better results. We call on all stakeholders to continue to work with us and redouble their efforts to in respect of the non-negotiables and to achieve quality.
I am happy that the Gauteng Department of Education has adopted strategies, to improve the quality of education provision and improve the quality of learning, by ensuring that we manage education delivery on day-to-day, school-by-school and classroom-by-classroom basis.
As the provincial Executive Council, we are committed to ensuring that the goals of Outcome 1: A quality basic education is realised. We recognise that improvements in learner performance require sustained efforts and well-designed and resourced interventions. We applaud the Department for prioritising its budget to support the interventions and as the provincial Government we remain committed to these interventions even in these though financial times.
Education will remain our top priority in Gauteng. The entire Executive Council will visit and inspect schools on the first day of school. We will check whether schools were prepared for teaching and learning from day one. We will engage with school governing bodies and also engage the broader community on educational issues facing specific communities.
In closing, I would also like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the MEC for Education and her officials, who have once more made sacrifices to make it possible for us to announce these improved results. The MEC, together with their provincial officials, also deserve a special mention for ensuring that our policies are implemented effectively.
Thank you!
