2010 Grade 12 Awards Ceremony speech by Mr Namane Dickson Masemola, MEC for Education Limpopo, Bolivia Lodge Polokwane

Programme Director
Honourable Premier
His Grace Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane
Members of the Executive Council
The Chairperson of Education Portfolio Committee, Hon., George Mashamba and Members of your Committee
Honourable Members of Parliament, both National Assembly of NCOP Our ambassadors
President of the ANCYL- Julius Malema
Provincial Chairperson of the Youth Development Agency- Frans Muswana
Leaderships of the various youth formations
Veterans of our struggle
Provincial Secretary of the ANC - Joe Maswanganyi Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature Executive mayors and Local mayors
Leadership of the ANC
Leaders of the Royalty and your Majesties
Our traditional leaders
The Leadership of our teacher unions
Leaders of learners and student formations
Head of Education Department - Mr. Benny Boshielo
Heads of other Provincial Departments
Religious leaders
Representative of both print and electronic media representatives of our institutions of higher learning, our esteemed partners in development
Leaders of various political parties
Principals of schools and school governing body (SGB) representatives
Outgoing Grade 12 luminaries and their ever supporting parents
Listeners of our three regional SABC stations and the various community radio stations
Distinguished guests
People of Limpopo

Thobela, Avuxeni, Ndi Matsheloni, Lotshane, Selotshile, goeie more, good morning to you all!!

It is noteworthy that the focus of the entire country today is on the Department of Education. This is precisely due to the significance of this day on the calendar of the nation. The government of the African National Congress indeed serves and values the freedom and democracy of its people and treasure the empowering and education role of ideas and information and committed itself to provide for the cultural, educational, social, economic and technological development of the people through quality education.

We have committed ourselves to improving the education system by continuing to reposition the curriculum, given the historical realities of fragmented, unequal and undemocratic nature of education system under apartheid that had a profound effect on the development of the country and its people. The resultant effects of that being the collapse of education culture in large parts of the country and troubled institutions of learning and teaching, where the real work of knowledge processing was distorted with the curriculum content irrelevant to the creation of a brain power and knowledge bank required for maximum development and growth of the country.

Our political democracy should contribute significantly to the reconstruction of our education system for it to continue playing an immense role toward creation of a democratic society characterized by success and prosperity. And through policy decisions and Laws passed have ensured and guaranteed South African access to life-long education irrespective of race, class, gender, creed or age.

Indeed our democracy to withstand the test of time and flourish forever, we must educate the nation to ensure efficiency and productivity and for them to remarkably disregard trends that detours them from the main task of multi skills development as a requirement for consciousness base, central to the durability and longevity of our democracy.

We have with great enthusiasm intensified our work around Code for Quality Education and ensured that frontline soldiers of our education Revolution and agents of change, through their effective and cognitive capacities embark on a service of tangible purpose.

In this regard our vision is predicated on the rejection of views that contrast growth and development of our system to a point of indistinguishable dispensation presupposing the past as good and as such unappreciative of the strides we are making in creating educational space conducive for learning and teaching.

Clearly when the sky is dark and foggy, waves getting bigger, landscape confusing and contradictory, environment changing

around you, you need men and women of integrity, an education team capable to discern, verbalize and embody a core set of values and inspire with ingenuity and excellence.

It needs committed community activists, educational management, public sector cadreship and visionary education professionals, who will continuously inspire, invigorate and mobilize a broad based front of organs of civil society and the forces of our education revolution. In making this call to battle, we are conscious of the fact that education, like civilization, cannot be claimed by one sector of the society. It belongs to human kind. Education perfects human beings as forces of development and can transform people who live in abject poverty into opulence.

We are workers of the mind and shepherds of the souls of the Lord, learners of our schools. And that is why it's important at this point to hear what the Book of authority, the Holy Bible says in James 3:1:

Not many of you should become teachers; brethren for you know that we teachers will be judged by a high standard and with greater severity than other people, thus we assume the greater accountability and more condemnation.

We should honestly with commitment discharge our responsibilities, understanding fully, that whatever mistake happen, it condemns our children for good.

Cde. Premier, the momentous occasions and challenges that we have had as a country cannot be forgotten. The 2010 soccer world cup tournament will go down in the annals of this country's history as a memorable event of incomparable proportions. The flipside of this wonderful soccer extravaganza was a protracted public sector strike which made the past academic year more challenging and difficult. However the collective efforts made assisted in preparing the learners for their final examinations. And our schools remain centers of academic excellence and theaters of social justice.

We have crisscrossed the Province consulting interested stakeholders in education. These stakeholders are but not limited to learners in all five districts, Grade 12 learners, Grade 12 teachers imbizo's, RCLs, school governing bodies, school principals, circuit managers and traditional leaders though not all of them. We are intensifying these interactions this year with all these stakeholders because it's working for us. The launching of Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign last year in Nkowankowa proved beyond reasonable doubt to us that it is essential. We are taking the campaign to the districts this year given its necessity.

The Government has identified five key priorities around which serious work is being done. We have prioritized education, health, job creation and sustainable livelihood, Rural Development and Crime and Corruption. Furthermore, our President Hon. Jacob Zuma prioritized education and had an indaba with school principals to accentuate the critical roles of teachers, learners, parents, officials and communities. He said education is now a societal responsibility. And it's through this pronouncement that the National Agenda's quest of transforming society through education and training to meet economic needs of the country is methodologically and systematically being quenched.

As we advance the freedom charter's call of opening doors of learning, we are indeed producing matriculants of profile.

We have developed a turn-around strategy as the Department to make sure that indeed we intensify our work of providing quality education and make our schools centres of excellence. And this strategy has its pillars as:-

Leadership and management, Governance, Curriculum delivery, Learner: teacher support materials, teacher development, finance, infrastructure, support, monitoring and evaluation, partnership
development, district improvement plan, circuit improvement plan and school improvement plans. These not all, are cornerstones for the realization of quality education system. This year we are going to continue and refine our strategy for a dialogue with stakeholders. The good work done around these areas will account for the results to be announced shortly.

It remains important that our schools management need competent principals to function effectively and efficiently. Quality classroom practice needs pedagogically strengthened educators to complete the curriculum and ensure assessment and monitoring of their own work. To ensure proper monitoring and support to our schools, we are training 134 circuit managers to improve their managerial skills. The overriding aim of the circuit improvement programme is self explanatory to introduce profound and sustainable changes with the way schools are managed, monitored and supported administratively and educationally.

Before I give you a breakdown of how our schools performed in various categories and the best learners who make this Province proud, it is important to explain that in the new National Curriculum Statement passes are in various categories and they are indicated in the learner's statement of results.

It is written:

Pass Bachelor: it means a learner can be admitted for a Bachelors degree at any university.

Pass Diploma: It means a learner can only be admitted for a Diploma at a university but not a degree.

Pass Higher Certificate: means a learner can only go to university for a higher certificate but not for a diploma or a degree.

It is also important to add that in terms of the new curriculum, a learner must either do mathematics and or mathematical literacy.

Before I can actually start with the announcement of the results, let me remind you that last year at this time we had a serious systems problem which made it impossible for me to announce the results on the set date. However this year, everything systems wise went well and standing before you, I am clear in my mind that we have been able to administer an examination process, incident free. Secondly that the province pass percentage last year stood at 48.9%.

We set ourselves a target of 60% to reclaim the historic baton that our educational forbearers bequeathed to us of being a province of choice when it came to learners enrolment and performance.

The province learners were the third group to sit for the National Senior Certification examinations. We have enrolled 94 632 learners who sat for examination in 2010. Of which 54 809 have passed which translated to 57, 9%. This signify today's exuberant overjoy, as a province because we have done very well.

This remarkable improvement represents 9% growth and therefore put us as the most improved Province compared to other provinces. And the achievement of this performance, despite the challenges of the past academic year is because we targeted the underperforming schools which stood at 737 and have since reduced them to 593, which represent a reduction of 144 schools from being dysfunctional. We provided schools with learners self study materials, question banks and teacher guides, Curriculum advisory services and continuously visited schools as education team; to offer them support they needed. To those learners who will be sitting for the supplementary examination, prepare yourselves thoroughly, you will make it. And those who did not make it is not the end of the world and have not lost the battle have courage.

  1. Top three districts - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11

We are starting with the top three districts in the province. Last year Capricorn was number one followed by Vhembe as number two. Ladies and gentlemen I now present to you the 2010 top three Districts.

This year Sekhukhune District has really performed well because it moved from position five to three. Congratulations to the District Senior Manager, Mr. George Nkadimeng. Keep up the good work

  Other districts' performance - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11

2. Top circuit per district (less than 600 candidates) - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11

For a circuit to qualify in this category it should have less than six hundred candidates writing Grade 12 examinations.We have introduced this category this year to honor these circuits as they contribute positively towards the overall performance of schools.

I would like to congratulate and commend good work done by circuit managers who really improved performance of their circuits. Keep up the good work and work harder.

3. Top circuit per district (600 or more candidates) - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11

These are circuits that have more than six hundred learners writing Grade 12 examination.

4. 100% pass schools (more than 50 candidates) - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11 release

This is the category of schools which have passed all the learners who wrote Grade 12 examinations.

5. Top school per district (high enrolment) - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11

6. Top school per district (low enrolment) - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11

7. Top 40 schools in the province - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11 (alphabetical)

8. Top three schools in the province - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11

9. Top candidate per district - GRADE 12 NSC 2010/11 official release

These are the best learners who obtained the highest total marks in the best six subjects in their districts.

10. Top 30 candidates in Limpopo - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11 (alphabetical)

11. Top candidate per subject - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11 official release

12. Accounting

13. Mathematics 300/300

Ladies and gentlemen I announce our top learners in Mathematics. These learners have achieved the total marks and they will receive laptops and printers. In 2009 we had 6 learners who got 300/300 in Mathematics and this year the number has increased to thirteen. The overall performance in Mathematics has increased by 0.3%. Marobathotha High school has produced a learner who got total mark in Mathematics and the school obtained 54% of performance.

14. Physical sciences 300/300

These learners will also receive laptops and printers. In 2009 we did not have a single learner who got total marks in Physical Science. This year we have six learners and the overall performance has increased by 9, 5% from 2009 performance. This is an indication that we are on track with regard to Physical Science.

15. 300/300 in both mathematics and physical sciences

We have five learners who obtained total marks in both Mathematics and Physical Science. They will each receive a laptop, printer and 3G. The printer can print, scan, fax and photocopy.

16. Club 50 - Grade 12 NSC 2010/11 release

The Club 50 was introduced because it was difficult for our schools to join Club 100 as we all know. This is to encourage schools to produce learners in Mathematics and Physical Science. We have 44 schools in this category last year.                                                                                                                 

17. Club 100 (100 or more candidates in mathematics)

The percentage growth in Mathematics and Physical Sciences is evidence by the consistent way in which our schools belong to this prestigious league of Club 100. We have 16 schools that fall under this elite Club.

18. Top three candidates in the province

These are the best learners who obtained the highest aggregate in their best six subjects (excluding Life Orientation).

Position 3
District: Capricorn
Circuit: Pietersburg
School: Hoërskool Pietersburg
Total: 1 682
Learner Name: Brezilda van Tonder

Position 2
District: Capricorn
Circuit: Pietersburg
School: Capricorn High
Total: 1 688
Learner Name: Mathew Divya Lis

Position 1

Ladies and gentlemen, in 2009, the overall Best leaner came from a rural school. This year as well our best overall learner who comes a previously disadvantaged school. This is the learner who addressed us last year during the same function after I spotted her at her school. Let's all rise and receive our best learner.
District: Capricorn
Circuit: Bochum East
School: Dendron Secondary
Total: 1 691
Learner name: Ngoepe Tsakane Sandra

This school is one of the Top Ten Schools in Mathematics in the whole country and has received an award from the National Department of Education. Honourable Premier, to recognize the excellent work by the school a contractor is currently on site to build State of the Art facilities at the school and its feeder Primary School to afford our learners an appropriate our infrastructure for teaching and learning.

Ladies and gentlemen, this department stands tall amongst other Provinces in South Africa as a result of a giant leap in matriculation performance in 2010. And are clear, with your support that we will keep this trend of excellence. We are in the industry of knowledge production and have resolved to set goals for ourselves:

• We are fully prepared to implement Action Plan 2014 towards the realization of schooling 2025
• We have established with determination the QLTC Unit to improve, hone and perfect the quality of learning and teaching. The unit will start working next week when the schools reopen.
• Learners who excelled in mathematics, physical science and commerce have left us with a challenge. In responding to the support needed, we are placing 118 highly qualified mathematics, physical science and commerce teachers who have just completed their studied.
• We will continue to make sure that MASTEC in-service training centers offer in-service training to Maths and Science teachers and are going to open satellite centers in some districts.
• Self study materials have proved helpful to our learners and are going to supply them.
• We have established five new districts with the expected purpose of strengthening support to circuits and schools more efficiently and expeditiously.
• Working in partnership with Teach South Africa, we are placing 25 teachers in Mopani to support and make sure that we work to improve performance of the targeted schools. And that is why Ms. Futhi Mthoba is here. President of BUSA and founder of Teach South Africa, thank you for the contribution you are making to improve our education in the province.
• We have 200 projects on site, at different stages of construction for state of the art schools and medium schools. And will shortly commence with maintenance of schools that are affected differently. And have started with the delivery of mobile classrooms to schools worse affected by natural causes.
• We will be launching ECD strategy with minimum curriculum framework.
  

These goals will further be elaborated in the turnaround strategy to be announced before the end of the month.

In summation, the department relies on its entire workforce for the sterling service that it renders to the communities of learners throughout the province. The Head of Department (HOD) Mr. Benny Boshielo and top management of the department deserve a special word of admiration. I have inadequate words to describe how I feel about your contribution, but let me say on behalf of the Department-your contribution delights the cockles of my heart.

Our teachers are at the coalface of delivery and they continue to reflect our aspirations as a nation. Kindly continue to bring back the nobility of the teaching profession. Our partners in education, the trade unions, are contributing enormously towards the attainment of good results in schools. I can confirm this truism if called upon to do so.

I also want to thank our SGBs for their valuable contribution that they make in schools. We call on all parents to be involved in their children's education throughout the year. To our learners who will be registering at various tertiary institutions I say-you have gathered the first fruit of wisdom. Go out and conquer the whole world.

To His Grace Bishop Dr. Barnabas Lekganyane, and other religious leaders thank you very much for coming, your presence once again infuses us with the spiritual power to overcome daily challenges of our work. I thank you. I thank everybody who graced this significant event and promise as an MEC for Education in Limpopo that the trend of our achievement is forward faced.

To the media, thank you for your continuous engagement with us in the course of duty of informing communities of Limpopo about our work. To the people of Limpopo, we will never let you down. Go ya ka magoro gase go tswana.

I thank you all, Kea leboga,
Ha khensa, Ndo livhuwa, Siyathokoza.

Source: Limpopo Department of Education