Thank you for responding positively to our invitation and allowing us to use your medium to delineate our state of readiness to deliver credible and successful 2012 Annual National Assessments (ANA) and the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
Today is exactly 11 days to the Annual National Assessments which are scheduled to be written from 18-21 September 2012. These tests are written in the context of our concerted efforts to deliver an improved quality basic education. They are written to evaluate the numeracy and literacy of learners from Grades 1 – 6 and 9.
In 2010 we took an unprecedented step in the history of South Africa to test for the very first time nearly 6 million children in Grades 3 and 6 on their literacy and numeracy skills in tests that were set nationally.
This was a huge undertaking but one that was absolutely necessary to ensure that we could assess what needed to be done in order to ascertain that all our learners fulfil their academic and human potential.
We need to have a clear picture of the health of our public education system – positive or negative – so that we can address any weaknesses that we might uncover.
The Free State ANA results for 2010 were as follows:
- In Grade 3, the provincial average performance in Literacy was 37%. In Numeracy our learners in the province performed at an average of 26%.
- In Grade 6, the provincial average performance in Languages was 23%. For Mathematics, the average performance was 28%.
The Free State performance was below the national average in three subjects, except in Grade 3 literacy. This average performance placed the Free State in the 5th position in the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2011 provincial ANA results served as a basis to measure at primary school level the performance of individual learners, schools, districts and the entire province.
ANA results are made public to allow parents, schools and communities to act positively on the information, and to be aware of areas deserving attention in the education of their children.
The ANA 2012 tests will be written by 394 457 Grade 1 to 6 and Grade 9 learners from 1 437 public and independent schools which have applied for government subsidy. The timetable for ANA is part of your media pack.
Our target is that 60% of Grade 3, 6 and 9 learners must perform at the minimum of 50% in Mathematics and Languages. All underperforming primary schools will account for their ANA results and remedial action will be taken to ensure an improved scholastic performance.
We sincerely appreciate the opportunity presented by ANA in identifying the weakness with regard to the performance of learners in Literacy and Numeracy in our primary schools.
At the beginning of this year we adopted a theme: ‘Raising the bar and leaving no child behind’. In line with this theme, an unprecedented attention was given to the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Languages in primary schools.
We did this because we believe that unless the right interventions are made at the foundation phase, we may kiss our economic and political stability goodbye. Unless pupils are taught properly at primary school level, we will continue to produce disastrous results in the senior phases.
To improve our performance in the 2012 Annual National Assessments we have put in place interventions that we strongly believe will bear fruit in the years to come:
- At the beginning of this year we embarked on two-day ANA-Usage road shows. At these road shows we conducted workshops to 280 under-performing primary schools on the value of ANA. The aim of the workshop was also to assist the schools to improve their School Academic Performance Improvement Plans and help Languages and Mathematics teachers to craft relevant and appropriate strategies to respond to challenges related to content We also had meetings with parents, principals, school management teams (SMTs) and teachers to discuss the role of these stakeholders towards the improvement of learner attainment in the 2012 ANA results. Parents were given brochures on minimum expected level of performance to enhance curriculum coverage and learners’ school readiness to equip them to support their children.
- As part of monitoring learner performance, regular assessments were conducted. For example, about 359 struggling primary schools wrote the provincial Mathematics and English tests and examinations in March and June 2012 respectively. This will assist teachers to diagnose specific areas where they need support, and to establish whether learning materials used by learners need to be improved.
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Other initiatives which were rolled-out to improve learner performance at primary school level included:
- Phonics programmes for Foundation Phase teachers were developed and distributed to schools to improve reading;
- Spelling BEE and Mental maths competitions were organised at District and Provincial levels to promote maths and fluency in reading and writing;
- Learners who experienced barriers to learning with regard to reading and writing were supported by inclusive education specialists;
- About R1 879 was allocated to all Full-Service schools to support learners who experience barriers to learning;
- Chess games were introduced to 281 under-performing grade 6-9 schools to promote mathematical problem solving and logical reasoning;
- Maths Laboratories were established in 200 primary schools to promote the teaching and learning of mathematics through manipulative;
- Schools were provided with CDs containing Exemplar question papers for revision;
- Seven Mobile Library services were provided to rural schools across the province to promote reading – 197 schools, 1 763 teachers and 45 980 learners benefited from this services;
- In partnership with the Department of Public Works, 313 Teacher Assistants have been employed to support 212 struggling primary schools in particular grade 3 learners to improve performance in the ANA.
On Monday this week, thousands of Free State learners commenced writing their preliminary Grade 12 examinations. The last day of these exams will be on 26 September 2012.
With less than 50 days to go before the start of the final examinations in the national senior certificate, the preliminary exams play a pivotal role in ensuring that learners are well-prepared to face their final schooling hurdle.
The papers set in the prelims cover the entire syllabus and are expected to be of a similar standard to that expected in the final examinations. The result also contributes to the School based Assessment (SBA) mark.
We take this opportunity to wish all learners well with their preliminary examinations.
The prelim exams will be followed by the National Senior Certificate examinations which will begin in earnest on 22 October and the last paper will be written on 30 November 2012
A total of 24 771 full-time candidates will sit for the final examinations in the province.
On 23 August we held a meeting with district senior officials to assess our state of readiness to conduct credible and successful Grade 12 examinations.
We are particularly pleased that there were no major disruptions of learning and teaching in our schools this year.
Improvement of learner performance in the NSC remains one of our key priorities. In 2011, we raised the bar by achieving a pass rate of 75.7% in the NSC exams. This represented an improvement of an impressive 5% from our 2010 performance, including a 5% improvement of the bachelors. Our target for 2012 is an 80% pass rate.
To achieve our provincial target, all districts have committed to obtaining an 80% or more pass rate at their level.
We also intend to reduce the number of schools performing below 70% from 107 in 2011 NSC examinations to 53 or fewer this year.
In the 2011 NSC examination 26,3% of learners obtained bachelor’s passes. We want to increase the number of candidates with quality passes to 30% in the 2012 results.
To achieve our 80% pass rate we wish to improve the performance in the so-called ‘killer subjects’: In Mathematics we envisage an increase in the pass rate from 53.94% in the 2011 NSC results to 65%. In Physical Science we intend to improve our performance from 55.21% to 65% and in Accounting we hope to increase the performance from 60.3% in 2011 to 70% in 2012.
In addition to increasing the number of schools obtaining 100% pass rate in matric results, we are also working towards increasing the passes in subjects that performed below 70%, to 75%.
The successful implementation of the Provincial Strategy on Learner Attainment (PSLA) in 2012 gives us confidence that we will indeed reach our target of 80% matric pass rate. The PSLA is an intervention developed by the department to improve Grade 12 results by phenomenally reducing the number of under-performing schools and subjects.
Our intervention included inter alia the development of School Academic Performance Improvement Plans (SAPIPs) in all underperforming schools. Study guides for high enrolment subjects, previous examination papers and memoranda were distributed to Grade 12 learners. ‘Tips for Exams’ Z-folders will be distributed to 10 000 learners during the provincial Grade 12 motivational road shows at the beginning of October 2012.
In addition common assessment tasks in the form of quarterly examinations, intended to strengthen School Based Assessment (SBA) were conducted. These assessments assisted learners to familiarise themselves with the structure and possible questions types they may encounter in the final NSC examinations.
Supplementary classes which are the key pillars of the PSLA were also conducted to enhance learner understanding of the content covered.
During the June holidays 13 315 learners drawn mainly from 107 under-performing schools were taught by expert tutors with proven track records of success in the schools in which they teach. This winter school programme covered subjects such as Accounting, Mathematics, Business Studies, Economics, English FAL, Geography, Life Science, Mathematical Literacy and Physical Science.
Preparations are under way for the Spring extra tuition classes as part of our initiative to improve scholastic performance in the 2012 NSC results.
While extra tuition remains one of our key interventions, our focus in 2012 has also been on the continuing and sustainable professional development of teachers. Content training for teachers which took the form of Residential Teacher Training programmes, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and Cluster workshops were conducted in all districts.
In ‘raising the bar and leaving no child behind’ grade 12 learners were provided with pacesetters to promote self-regulation in respect to curriculum coverage. Learners were also exposed to Information Communication Technology (ICT) platforms (such as Mindset, Information Communication Technology in School Education (ICTISE), HeyMath) for them to access lessons in critical subjects and give them opportunity to interact with tutors.
In addition school management teams of under-performing schools and schools with big enrolments received training from the University of the Free State in the Instructional Leadership Programme. The aim of this leadership training was to ensure that these under-performing schools are properly managed to improve the performance of learners in the 2012 NSC examinations.
Furthermore, we have partnered with community radio stations for live broadcasts of lessons of various subjects. These broadcasts have already commenced this week. They will run until the end of October. During these broadcasts learners will be able to call-in and ask questions from the subject-advisors who will be deployed to these radio stations.
As a direct result of our interventions throughout the year many struggling schools have seen a remarkable improvement in their performance. In the 2011 NSC results Vulamasango Secondary School in Bloemfontein obtained 40.1% but in June exams this year, the school has improved to 63%. Lefikeng Secondary School in Botshabelo received 47.54% in the 2011 grade 12 results. In June they have improved to an impressive 90.8%.
In Lejweleputswa District, Relekile Secondary School improved their results from 54% in the 2011 NSC results to 79% in April 2012 and to 87% in June 2012 .
In Qwa Qwa, Selelekela Secondary School, the 2011 NSC results was 29% and in June 2012 the results improved to 65%. Reahola Secondary Secondary – also in Qwa-Qwa registered a marked improvement from 56% in the NSC results to 100% in June 2012.
Fezile Dabi District had 9 schools which performed at 100% in the 2011 NSC. In June this year, 11 schools obtained 100% pass rate before Continuous Assessment (CASS) mark.
Ladies and gentlemen, the conduct of exams is a huge logistical exercise. Having said that I am pleased to announce that the following administrative work has been done which clearly demonstrates our state of readiness for the 2012 Grade 12 NSC examinations:
- Security measures are place to ensure that the integrity of the exams is not compromised. We urge learners to conduct themselves with honesty during exams. Cheating and other exam irregularities may result in a criminal record.
- Chief Invigilators have already been trained.
- All Grade 12 learners have been successfully registered.
- Grade 12 learners in some schools, especially under-performing schools, have been addressed on pass requirements.
- A monitoring team from Umalusi and the National Department of Basic Education visited the province on 13-14 August to establish our state of readiness and they have expressed satisfaction with preparations done to date.
Conclusion
As we conclude, ladies and gentlemen, we call upon the whole province to mobilise support for all learners, in all grades. We did it last year during our ‘Put your hands up for grade 12 class of 2011’ campaign. Working together we can do even better.
The media is an important social partner. We urge the media to galvanise support for ‘raising the bar and leaving no child behind’ and get our stakeholders to support the ANA and NSC Class of 2012.
Learners who will be sitting for the 2012 ANA and NSC examinations must stay focus and put more effort required to prepare for the examinations.
Parents should support our learners in their exam preparations through encouragement and helping them to create sound study habits and spaces wherever they can.
We thank teachers, parents, teacher unions, governing bodies, our business partners and the broader society for the hard and support thus far. Education is a societal issue.
Improving the quality of education is the precondition for realising the country’s human resources development goals and a better life for all.
I thank you.
Inquiries:
Howard Ndaba
Cell: 079 503 5485
