Gauteng Premier, Nomvula Mokonyane, has heaped loads of praises on the Class of 2012 after the province reclaimed the number one spot in matric performance in the country.
This after Gauteng matriculants achieved an 83.9% pass rate; the highest percentage pass rate in the country since 1994. This is an improvement of 2.8% from 2011's 81.1%.
“It is fitting that this group of young people – the Born Frees – are the ones who have achieved this remarkable feat; despite all the much-publicised challenges they faced. Through their efforts, the Class of 2012 has shown what this province and country can do when we all work together. As a province, we are proud of these learners and congratulate them on a job well done,” the Gauteng Premier said.
Mokonyane said she was also pleased that the “yoyo performance” – one year up and down the next year – seemed to be a thing of the past as the province's matric performance has for the third year running showed an improvement – beating the targeted 80% pass rate aimed for 2014 for the second year in a row.
Announcing the results of the 2012 matric exams on Wednesday 02 January 2013, Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, said 73.9% of the more than half half-a-million learners who sat for exams nationally passed and – as in 2010 – the top performing province was Gauteng.
“This is a result of the consistent hard work from the parents, teachers, and education officials and, of course, the learners themselves,” added
Premier Mokonyane also emphasised that the improved performance was a result of all stakeholders pulling together in one direction.
“We cannot understate the importance of our communities taking a collective responsibility to ensure that quality education takes place in all our schools – from Sandton to Soweto. It is members of the community who must speak up when they see learners loitering around during school hours; it is members of the community who should donate their time and resources to ensure that under-achieving schools improve their performance. For it is when we all share this huge responsibility that we can continue getting these improvements in our education. These results are proof that we are going in the right direction,” she said.
“Through interventions such as our Secondary Schools Improvement Programme (SSIP) we have shown that it is possible to fix the challenges facing our schooling system,” the Premier said.
The SSIP targets under performing schools and crafts strategies to improve performance.
“We want to also thank the education officials who were assigned to poor-performing schools for the sterling work they did; the results of their work is there for all to see.
“We wish those who performed well all the best in their future studies. Those who did not do well; do not despair – explore other further education options available in our province so that you, too, can make a meaningful contribution to the life of our province,” she concluded.
For more information contact Premier's spokesperson:
Thebe Mohatle
Cell: 082 373 1146
