MEC Mandla Makupula: 2013 matric results release

Statement by Eastern Cape Education MEC Mandla Makupula on the occasion of the 2013 release of matric results

Madam Premier,
Members of the Provincial Executive Council,
Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Parents, teachers, learners, communities and organised labour,
Heads of Department,
Other distinguished guests,
Members of the media fraternity.

Dear parents, teachers, learners and communities, receive my warm greetings (of the Season)! Heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to present to you the official Eastern Cape Department of Education Learner Performance Report for NSC 2013 Examinations on this important day in the calendar of education.

I wish to remind you all that the first National Senior Certificate Examinations (NSC) was written in 2008. As we are all aware, since its inception six years ago, the management, administration and conduct of this examination has been accomplished with a high degree of credibility and integrity in the province of the Eastern Cape.

The results release is presented to you here as official documents (2 separate booklets) for the 2013 Grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC), and the Annual National Assessment (ANA) results.

2013 Context

Achievements and challenges

The year 2013, started with relative stability and a focus on the capacitation and strengthening of departmental administration. There has also been greater stability in the sector in curriculum implementation for the last five (5) years. This has afforded teachers, learners and officials more time to familiarize themselves with the objectives of the curriculum.

As reiterated by the national Minister yesterday, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has developed and implemented a comprehensive strategy predicated on the Action Plan: 2014 and the National Development Plan.

The National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA) covered grade R - 12 with 104 activities delineating responsibilities at national, provincial, district up to school level, consistent with the philosophy and change theory adopted by the current administration of making the classroom the centerpieces of everything we do in the sector.

The NSLA has been implemented into a Provincial Improvement Plan (PIP), District Improvement Plans (DIPs) and School Improvement Plans (SIPs). Schools and districts regularly reported on a monthly basis and the province in turn reported to national on a quarterly basis.

As also confirmed yesterday by the Minister, the resourcing and funding for the sector have experienced exponential growths over the years. Government expenditure investment in the sector has progressively grown from 2009 – 2013. This has been done to put in place a solid foundation for quality education and the upward trend in learning outcomes confirm that the pro-poor policies of government have started to bear fruits.

The mantra of the current administration has been Teacher, Text and Time. We as a province have thus also ensured that specific and particular attention is paid to realize the President's instructions in this regard.

There has been maximum participation of key stakeholders in decision making processes leading to observed stability in the year under review. There has also been maximum participation by teachers in Numeracy and Literacy intervention projects as evidenced by the ANA results of 2012 and 2013.

The new academic year opened with improved Grade 12 NSC results of 61.6%, In fact, this was the first time the Eastern Cape produced such a high pass rate since 1994 and we are committed to jealously protect this upward trajectory.

The most notable 2013 challenge during the opening of schools was the shortage of teachers due to a number of reasons such as:

• Uncertainty about the future on the part of teachers employed on a temporary basis.
• Non-movement of additional educators.

However, the challenge related to teachers was addressed within the first quarter of the academic year. In spite of these challenges, the majority of schools had teachers in front of learners at the beginning of the academic year.

The most notable recent achievements included, amongst others:

• Timeous delivery of 2013 LTSM and stationery to the overwhelming majority of our schools.
• The strengthening of School Nutrition and Scholar Transport Programmes. These two programmes were implemented as from day one of the opening of the schools. It is however, acknowledged that a lot still needs to be done in this area of care and support for learners.
• Eastern Cape Department of Education is amongst the Provinces that have the highest number of schools and “no fee paying” schools, that benefit from its equity share.
• A much improved audit outcome for the 2012/13 financial year (achievement of qualified audit – for the first time since 1994).
• In its efforts to strengthen the administration and education delivery, the following appointments were made: Head of Department/Accounting Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, a number of Senior Managers and Professional staff (including 48 Deputy Chief Education Specialists (DCES)/ Education Development Officers (EDOs) and 160 Senior Education Specialist (SESs)).
• The consolidation of Support Services contributed to the stability of the system and created space to focus on the core business of providing quality teaching and learning.
• Serious attention was given to accelerating the LAIS programme, especially in underperforming general education and training (GET) and further education and training (FET) schools and in the 10 underperforming 2012 NSC result districts. A LAIS Co-ordinating Committee was instituted, comprising Deputy Directors-General (DDGs) and Chief Directors was led by the Head of Department (HOD). This structure developed a LAIS Implementation Plan that entailed:
  
  • Accountability meetings that were held on a quarterly basis at Head Office as well as all District offices
  • Facilitated the holding of extra classes, study groups, vacation / holiday schools and revision camps spearheaded by committed South Africans such as Ilima in partnership with the religious sector, chiefs, municipalities, parents and communities.

2013 Learner Registration

• 75 092 full time and 20 580 part time candidates were registered for the 2013 Grade 12 NSC examinations. The total number of candidates were 95 672 in 2013, whereas in 2012 there were 87 763 candidates (69 098 Full time and 18 665 Part time candidates in 2012). The target for 2013 was 69 400 for full time candidates.
• By the time of writing the NSC exams, 72 138 full time registered candidates wrote the examinations in 930 full time and 141 part time registered Examination Centres.
• All registered candidates were provided with 87 question papers for the 29 registered NCS subjects.
• The verification of the registration of candidates was done to ensure the accuracy of the data.
• Compared to 2012, the learner registration in 2013 was more reliable and accurate. Shortcomings and challenges related to learner registration were addressed in 2013 by involving 23 district offices.

Question Papers: Printing, Packaging and Distribution

• Grade 12 National Senior Certificate question papers were again set nationally and provinces printed for their registered candidates.
• The printing, packaging and distribution of the question papers were successfully undertaken by the contracted service providers.
• The printing of question papers started from 16 October 2013 and was completed by 18 November 2013 and the last delivery was on 19 November 2013.
• Approximately 19,2 million sheets (30 tons) of paper were utilised to print the Grade 12 NSC examination question papers.
• Written scripts were delivered to the district offices by schools/centres daily and all arrangements proceeded smoothly.

Conduct of 2013 NSC Examinations

The National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination commenced on 28 October 2013 and concluded on 29 November 2013.

As in previous exams, an efficient and credible exam was conducted and there were no leakages of any question papers. There were also a significant decrease in administrative errors/ omissions as well as behavioural offences and acts of dishonesty in the writing of the 2013 NSC exams.

The above significance is attributed to direct training of problematic schools, private centres and independent schools by the Province in the conduct, and improved management, monitoring and handling of irregularities.

All candidates that happened to be found unregistered during the marking session were registered and resulted. All irregularity cases encountered were well managed according to policy provisions and the integrity and credibility of examinations.

However there are 13 learners that were involved in acts of dishonesty (found in possession of crib notes – 10 cases; copying using cell phone – 1 case; different handwriting in a script – 1 case; and a candidate with two scripts – 1 case). These candidates’ results have been withheld pending finalization of investigation and irregularities hearings to be held on the 14 January 2014.

Announcement of results – Class of 2013 Grade 12s

• The provincial pass rate for 2013 is 64.9%, which represents an increase of 3.3% from the 61,6% we achieved in 2012. This is the highest overall pass rate achieved since 2008 (50,6%) and 1994 (48,5%).
• The 2013 provincial pass rate also represents a further and sustained increase since the 2011 results and is up by almost 14% from the 51% we achieved in 2009. To reiterate, the last time we performed above 60% was in 2003 when we achieved 61.1%. We have now managed to stay above 60% for 2 years in a row, with further sustained increases way above 60% predicted in the years ahead.
• In 2013, there is no cluster whose pass rate is below 60%
• The top performing districts for 2013 are:
  
  • First is Port Elizabeth (PE) with a pass rate of 74% an increase of 2.9%, which is a result of the high levels of political and technical investments and commitments made in 2013;
  • 2nd is Cradock with 73.5%, a slight increase of 1.2%;
  • 3rd is East London (EL) with 73.1% and an increase of 4.4%
  • as in 2012, there are five districts that again achieved results above 70% (including Cofimvaba and Maluti)
• The three most improved districts for 2013 are Fort Beaufort, Dutywa and Mt Frere with pass rates of 56,6%, 60,8% and 58,8%, respectively. Their respective pass increases are 11,9%, 9,8% and 9,2% respectively. Fort Beaufort was the poorest performing district in 2012 with a 44,7% pass rate. If one considers the challenges within these three districts, then the achievements are very noteworthy.
• The three worst performing districts for 2013 are:
  
  • Sterkspruit with 57,1% pass rate (vs 56,1% in 2012);
  • Fort Beaufort with 56,6% pass rate (vs 44,7% in 2012); and
  • Qumbu with 52,6% (vs 49,1% in 2012).

All three of these poorest performing districts, however, registered improvements in 2013 of 1%, 11,9% and 3.4% respectively.

• Districts with pass rate below 60% have decreased since 2008 (in 2008 there were 17 districts, 2009 = 19 districts, 2010 = 12, 2011 = 11, 2012 = 10, 2013 = 7)
• Currently there is no district with a pass rate below 50%
• Number of schools performing below 60% has decreased from 608 in 2008 to 411 in 2013
• Number of schools performing above 60% has increased from 297 in 2008 to 515 in 2013
• The percentage of schools with a pass rate of below 30% has decreased from 32,3% in 2008 to 11.6% in 2012 and 7,8% in 2013
• The percentage of schools with a pass rate of between 50-60%, 60- 70%, 70-80% and 80-99% has also increased from 9,3%, 9%, 6,1% and 13,4% of schools in 2008 to 14,9%, 16,4%, 14,6%, and 19.9% of schools, respectively
• The percentage of schools with a 100% pass rate has also increased from 4,4% of schools in 2008 to 4,8%, in 2013
• The number of schools with a 0% pass rate has increased from 0 in 2012 to 2 schools in 2013, but where these two schools have very low grade 12 learner enrolments (4 grade 12 learners in Impey Siwisa High School in Fort Beaufort and 6 grade 12 learners at Resha Senior Secondary School in King Williams Town, which both illustrate the need for policy interventions, eg rationalization/ mergers).
• The Department has received the best quality of results in Dept since 2008, which is illustrated as follows:
• Highest number of distinctions (11 038 in 2013 vs 9264 in 2012 vs 7398 in 2008)
• Highest number of bachelors pass rate (13 686 in 2013 vs 11 246 in 2012 vs 8622 in 2008)
• Highest number of diploma pass rate (19 179 vs 16 148 in 2012 vs 11 155 in 2008)
• Highest number of higher certificate pass rate (13 950 vs 11 998 in 2012 vs 10 707 in 2008)

In terms of provincial ranking the province ranks fifth in terms of bachelors pass rates, fourth in terms of diploma pass rate, and third in terms of higher certificate pass rate in all provinces.

The province registered a decreased percentage of learners who passed various subjects as compared to 2012, in subjects such as Afrikaans 1st Additional (-0,4%), Agricultural Technology (-2,2%), Mathematical Literacy (-0,6%), Mechanical Technology (-1,6%), Music (-0,1%) and Religious Studies (-3,5%).

The more concerning learner pass decreases in Accounting (-4,2%) and Economics (-5,3%) are noted and are part of provincial and district improvement plans for 2014. However, in 2 main gateway subjects, Mathematics and Physical Science the province has improved by 5,3% in both subjects (despite teacher shortages).

This clearly illustrates the notable levels of success being achieved by the province through various interventions to deal with some of the teacher shortages being experienced in certain scarce skill subjects.

Responsibilities

Education remains a major contributor in dealing with poverty and economic development.

A learner stays in our education system for an average of thirteen years, starting at Grade R and culminating with Grade 12. The Annual National Assessment (ANA) and Grade 12 results have become critical tools to judge performance of both our system and our learners.

Through examinations, collectively schools, parents, villagers, government and communities should be able to determine the strengths and weaknesses of both learners and the system itself. This will go a long way in helping learners to prepare themselves for their historical responsibilities.

Learners and young people in schools and other institutions of learning have only one duty today, the duty of studying; studying should be seen as a social duty. By discharging that duty, learners shall be paying all debts they may have had to society and the heroes/heroines who sacrificed to make possible this present society. All this sacrifice is being made to dignify schools and higher institutions of learning in South Africa for poor people, both black and white.

Learners should study more and strive to be better every day as we all walk towards a better future. The future needs technology, culture and knowledge. Self-improvement on a day-to-day basis should become a necessity for all of us. Education, Science and Technology form an inseparable triad necessary for a country’s development.

Our Education system must not only teach learners academic work but must also teach human values: generosity, modesty, simplicity, solidarity, and respect for humanity, selflessness, patience and courage. It should also teach impatience for injustice.

To those who have passed the examinations, we say they must go on to utilise the opportunities opened up by our country to contribute in building a better life for our people. To those who could not make it in 2013, we say they must not despair. To make a mistake is not a sin. The sin is to repeat the mistake. By repeating Grade 12 you will have a better opportunity to deal with your mistake and improve your performance.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all the learners, parents, educators, and head office and district officials for the hard work that they have put in over 
the last 2 years and I hope that they will double their efforts in 2014 to achieve even far better results.

A special word of gratitude is also extended to all the teacher unions, traditional leaders, the churches led by Ilima and other key stakeholders for their role in again elevating the provincial pass rate and improving the various indicators of quality in the NSC class of 2013.

The Eastern Cape does not belong with the “fowls, but it should be flying with the eagles”. This can only be achieved if as a collective we focus on the same target, i.e. the learner.

It is not a disgrace to be illiterate, poor, to fail, to be disabled or unemployed. What becomes a disgrace is when a modern and sophisticated country like South Africa is unable to reduce high unemployment, and eliminate poverty, illiteracy and related negative societal mindsets at a more acceptable rate.

Conclusion

Bantu Bakowethu!

The results released here today are humbly presented to you as an instrument of improving performance, career-path and determining progress. Today, we again remember that it takes a village to raise a child.

It’s up to all us to do more to make ‘Education truly a societal matter’ to realise our short, medium and long term sector visions. To the communities out there we say again that our greatest heroes are you, the ordinary people, who continue to make tremendous sacrifices and immense contributions in ensuring that your children’s education takes priority. We promise not to fail you.