The Eastern Cape Province’s competitiveness is not hindered by the fact that it is vastly rural and the majority of its schools are scattered in its outskirts, but, this province is commanding a huge respect from other schools nationally through its accomplishments.
Notwithstanding the fact that the province performed rather dismally last year in terms of numbers of matriculants who passed, coming in last nationally with a woeful 50,7% pass rate, thankfully, that has not discouraged other spheres from excelling in their chosen areas. With over 2,1 million registered learners, the province has lately been inundated with a flurry of medals and commendations that are worth noting. These pockets of excellence include best performing schools in sport, schools with best management practices, best performing schools academically and best performing schools in sports.
In the recent South African National Primary Schools Athletics championships held in Polokwane, Limpopo, in April this year, the Eastern Cape contingent of 130 athletes brought back 25 medals consisting 7 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals.
Additionally, in the secondary schools South African Schools Athletics championships held in the KwaZulu-Natal province, the 150 athletes from the province scooped 43 trophies. These trophies included 14 gold, 15 silver and 14 bronze medals. To cap this astounding achievement, the icing on the cake was a new South African record by Hudson Park High school’s 18 year old Aphelele Rasmeni in the under 19 Triple Jump with a distance of 15,67 meters.
The 2009 National South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod which was held in Randburg last week saw the province scooping 17 trophies from 8 different categories. These trophies include 6 Gold, 7 Silver and 4 Bronze medals. Two of the outstanding performers in this competition were the Lusikisiki’s Hombe Junior Secondary School which won a gold trophy in the western piece category for the second time, repeating the same feat as last year. Another performer was the Zuney Farm School from Port Elizabeth, which won a gold trophy in sextet for farm schools category.
These pockets of excellence, according to the Eastern Cape Department of Education MEC, Mahlubandile Qwase, showcase the talent that rural schools possess and their competitive edge. “Learners from our schools are recognised nationally for their best performance, especially the rural schools. Hombe is a great example as this is rural school with no music equipment but the dedication of Ms January the music teacher and the eagerness of the learners is taking this school places. When I spoke to Ms January, she told me that she had tried every trick in the book to downsize the number of choristers, but failed. According to her, she asked these learners to come for practice at seven o’clock in the morning, and they all showed up. So that it was impossible for these learners to fail due to their eagerness”, said Qwase.
“Amongst last year’s provincial matric top performers was the one learner from the Cofimvaba District, Avuyile Kopolo of St James Secondary School who came third, with six distinctions. This is a typical sign that these learners do not depend on the fancy tools and infrastructure to perform” he added.
Although the other top three candidates in the province from “historically disadvantaged” schools were included Viwe Tuswa, from Khanyisa High School in Mthatha district with five distinctions, Similo Dingile from Nongeke Senior Secondary School in Mbizana district, with four distinctions and 100 percent in maths, and Siposake Gege from Holycross Education Centre in Mthatha district, who also achieved five distinctions. Qwase cited that this was a sign that some schools adhered to best practices, thus the outstanding performance by these learners against all odds.
“These excelling schools academically and in extra curriculum activities are the indication that teachers out there are committed to teaching these children irrespective of their background. I want to urge other schools within this province to copy the methods used by these schools so that our learners can get the best from these schools irrespective of where the school is located. We need teachers, parents and the community members to work together in making sure that education become a societal matter with all of them playing their roles as stated in the non-negotiable of the Quality Teaching and Learning pledge” said Qwase.
Issued by: Department of Education, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
28 July 2009
Source: Department of Education, Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ecdoe.gov.za)
