MEC's speech during announcement of Eastern Cape matric results

Madam Premier
Members of the Provincial Executive Council
Members of the Provincial Legislature
Heads of Department
Other distinguished guests
Our prize winners
Ladies and gentlemen

Once again, welcome and thank you for joining us as we unveil these results of the New Curriculum Statement (NCS) Grade 12 Class of 2010. We undertake this much vaunted national ritual against the back drop of many milestones, initiatives and challenges that confront our education system. While it is generally accepted that our schooling system has been performing well below its potential, the past year alone has been momentous in that our government has seen fit to elevate the issue of the improvement of the quality of basic education as Outcome 1 out of 12 outcomes representing the top priorities of government. This makes basic education the apex priority of this term of government.

President Jacob Zuma has emphasised the country’s expectation by imploring that, “Our education targets are simple but critical. The need is fairly straightforward as far as the basic education sector is concerned. Our children and young people need to be better prepared by their schools to read, write, think critically and solve numerical problems. These skills are the foundations on which further studies, job satisfaction, productivity and meaningful citizenship are based”.

As a response to this clarion political call, a number of curricula improvement policy initiatives were unveiled that suggest that our country is on the verge of breaking the back of education underperformance that has blighted the first fifteen years of our democracy. Mid-way through the year, National Basic Education Minister, Hon. Mrs Angie Motshekga announced the formal adoption of the recommendations of the Report of Task Team for Review of Implementation of National Curriculum Statement. which, among other things, recommended critical changes that would relieve teachers and schools of some of the challenges experienced and leave more time for teaching and learning. It also recommended targeted support for teachers and schools.

The introduction of the Action Plan to 2014: Towards the realisation of Schooling 2025 has been met with hope and excitement as it reasserts this administration’s commitment to the value of long term planning and rigorous examination of all the factors that underpin continued underperformance at all levels of our education system.

Furthermore, on 29 October 2010, the President signed a Basic Delivery Agreement with the Education Minister, Deputy Minister and all 9 provincial MECs that committed them to the fundamental task of delivering an improved quality of basic education. In essence this benchmark stipulates the activities to be undertaken to produce the mutually agreed-upon outputs, thereby offering specific markers through which provincial performance will henceforth be measured. This is important if monitoring and evaluation will successfully be mainstreamed throughout the system to include schools, circuit and district offices, and provincial and national headquarters. 

What of the provincial landscape?

2010 has been a very challenging and demanding year for the Department of Education:

• We started the year with 494 schools that had achieved less than 50% and thus with concomitant need to extensively strengthen management and governance in those schools
• Projected over-expenditure which had direct impact on filling of critical posts at district and school level as well as delivery of key support programs like School Nutrition Program, Scholar Transport, etc.
• Extended periods of instability and the national industrial strike.
• Non-payment of Service Providers as a result of huge accruals from the previous financial year
• Ongoing infrastructure challenges and backlogs
• Perpetual negative audit outcomes that continue to create bad corporate image for the organisation.

Despite these challenges that continued to plague the organisation as a whole there was a concerted effort to ensure that we do not lose the focus in terms of achieving the target for improved learner performance.

In 2007 Learner Attainment Improvement Strategy (LAIS) was conceptualised as an overarching framework for the system-wide improvement of learner performance, extending from Grade R to 12. On 7 January 2010, during the release of results, the department unveiled a fairly comprehensive Programme of Action (PoA) that was a result of consultations undertaken during a stakeholder LAIS Summit held in November 2009. 

Briefly, the recommendations of that Summit focused on five (5) critical pillars that would be fundamental in bringing about major improvements in the delivery of the core business of the department, learning and teaching; these pillars are:

• strengthening management and governance in schoolsEnhancing NCS implementation
• optimal utilisation of available resourcesIntegrated human resource development strategy
• the Implementation of the Quality Learning and Teaching Campaign (QLTC)

Arising out of the LAIS POA were key interventions that undoubtedly have had impact on the improvement of learner performance. These include, inter alia:

1. Key Curriculum interventions in 2010 to support Teaching and Learning

• World Cup Campaign for Teaching and Learning 2010

In June 2010 South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament. In order to meaningfully occupy high school learners during the extra long June vacation, 2 resource booklets were developed, printed and distributed to all 906 senior secondary schools. The booklets contained activities to be completed by learners either individually or in study groups.

Booklet 1 was entitled: “Campaign for Teaching and Learning:  Phase 1 – Generating interest and participation in the World Cup”. Booklet 2 was entitled:  “Campaign for Teaching and Learning: Phase 2:  Grades 10 – 12 Holiday Activities”. 

These booklets focused on Languages, Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy and Life Orientation and were used by learners and teachers during the vacation for extra classes and self study. Indications are that the Eastern Cape was the only province in the country that planned and implemented such an activity.

• Focused support for Grade 12 “killer”  subjects

In collaboration with AVUSA Publications, 2 newspaper supplements were developed and printed. The supplements contained model question papers and memoranda. Copies of each supplement were printed for each and every Grade 12 learners registered for the National Senior Certificate Examination (NSC). In addition, free copies were included in the Daily Dispatch and EP Herald.

Volume 1 was published in June 2010 was entitled “World Cup Grade 12 Teaching and Learning Campaign” and Volume 2 in August 2010 was entitled: “Grade 12 Revision for Exam Preparation”. These supplements focused on the following subjects:  English FAL, Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy, Geography. Life Sciences, Accounting, Business Studies, Physical Sciences. Teachers and learners made extensive use of these Question and Answer Series which were based on examination question papers and memoranda. This initiative by the Eastern Cape was acknowledged nationally and subsequently made available to other provinces

• Radio Lessons

Radio lessons targeting key subjects were aired on Umhlobo Wenene from July to November 2010 to support Grade 12 learners. Expert teachers and subject advisors presented lessons on air focusing on areas of difficulty and weakness in individual subjects. Learners posed questions to the presenters and were given immediate guidance and direction. TruFM featured programmes on study tips and examination hints presented by departmental officials. This programme attracted tremendous attention and the positive response of learners and teachers was enormous.

• Learner Motivation Media Campaign

Motivational articles were published in major and community newspapers throughout the Province as a Countdown to the September Grade 12 Trial Examinations as well as the Final Grade 12 Examination in October/November 2010. These articles focused on motivational and inspirational messages as well and study tips and hints. The practical guidance and time management templates offered was keenly appreciated by all learners.

• English FAL Project

English FAL for the majority of Grade 12 learners is the language of teaching and learning and hence an ongoing project dating from 2007 continues to support teachers and learners from grades 10 – 12.  Co-curricular language projects such as the Young Communicators Awards, The Heritage Day Debating Competitions and the Nab’Ubomi Film Competition encouraged learners to participate in the practical use of the language. These projects contributed to improved confidence in learners reading, writing and speaking skills which impacted on all subjects. Partnerships have been established with READ Education Trust, ELET (Environment and Language Education Trust) to develop materials for teachers and learners. These included, study guides for all prescribed literature, training manuals and notes on the teaching of film study and reading cards to improve comprehension and literacy skills. The continued use of these materials has proved invaluable and has enhanced the performance in English FAL incrementally.

• Focus on Mathematics and Sciences

The gateway subjects Mathematics and Sciences have been uplifted to increase learner performance. The Provincial Maths and Science Academy based in Mthatha was established in 2009 in direct response to this imperative. The Academy promotes teacher training programmes in these subjects in close collaboration with the Education Leadership Institute (ELI). Several partnerships have been established to provide support to teachers and learners to enhance the teaching and learning of Maths and Sciences. Ongoing support of Maths and Science in Dinaledi Schools and the provision of Maths and Science kits in GET and FET schools have enhanced the practical study of the subject. 

• Teaching and Learning resources

As part of the Grade 12 learners support programme initiated in 2007 and continued through to 2010, key resources have been identified, procured and distributed to either schools or district resource centres. These resources include:  e-learning software programmes for learning areas and subjects, Learning Channel DVDs focusing on the “killer” FET subjects; study guides for “killer” subjects; printed lesson plans and pace setters for all GET learning areas and FET subjects; printed sets of previous examination question papers, memoranda and examiners reports, resourcing of District Media Centres etc. The indication is that these resources available are used regularly by teachers and learners to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

2. Key Management and Governance Interventions

In acknowledging the direct relationship between dysfunctional schools and ineffectual leadership in schools the department identified 494 schools that had achieved less than 50% and targeted training interventions were given to the principals to improve their capacity to turn the situation in their schools around. HODs as part of School Management Teams were also exposed to numerous instructional leadership programmes.  Education Development Officers were trained in mentoring and coaching to be able to adequately support their schools.

3. Key district Coordination interventions

The strengthening of implementation at district and school level was identified as key in the realisation of the objectives of the LAIS Programme of Action. Multi-disciplinary teams visited schools on a continuous basis and this approach needs to be re-inforced as it has proven to have maximum impact. Despite the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup hype, all districts had intensive Winter School Programmes that stretched in some cases up to 3 weeks.

Monitoring and tracking of curriculum coverage on a weekly and monthly basis was formally instituted for the first time. Learner and educator attendance was tracked and monitored on a monthly basis.

Also to mitigate the impact of the National Public Service strike, a LAIS Recovery Programme was implemented where learning centres were established in districts. These became hubs for learner support programmes and sharing of expertise amongst educators and in some cases these translated into week-end camps.

4.  Key Training and Development Initiatives

The Education Leadership Institute coordinated a number of high impact interventions to improve the quality of teaching and learning:

Training of educators in underperforming FET schools to address content knowledge gaps in identified critical subjects like Accounting, Agricultural Science, Mathematics, Physical Science and Life Sciences.

Teachers in scarce and critical skills subjects were trained to assist them in helping their learners in mastering a set of nationally defined competencies at Grade 12, including obtaining University entrance qualification.

Educators in the GET band were trained to improve literacy and numeracy levels in Grade 3, 6 and 9 as well as in Mathematics and Natural Science, in collaboration with Teachers Without Borders. 

Through collaboration and partnerships with Higher Education Institutions, programmes to enhance the skills of under and unqualified educators were implemented both for the FET schools and for identified under-performing feeder schools.

Release of 2010 Results

The department’s LAIS straddles both the General Education and Training (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET) bands and hence, the interventions extend from Grade R to 12. In releasing the results for the academic year 2010, it is my pleasure to present the results of all grades from Grade 1 to 12, although the main focus for today is the Grade 12 class of 2010.

Firstly, in the GET Band there have been several interventions but I wish to highlight the Provincial Common Tests conducted for Grade 3, 6 and 9 for the first time. This initiative of ours was designed to enhance the Annual National Assessments, Foundations for Learning and the Presidential focus on Grades 3, 6 and 9 for quality learning outcomes.

Whilst the results of all Grades from 1 to 11 are contained in the results booklet, I wish to draw attention to the performance of learners in the nationally prioritised grades.  In Grades 3 the pass rate was 84.5%, the pass rate in Grade 6 was 84.1% and in Grade 9 it was 70.3%.

Grade 12 Results

I now focus attention on the highlight for today, 6 January 2011, as determined by the national government i.e. the release of results of the Grade 12 Class of 2010.

It is my privilege and pleasure to inform you that the Provincial Education Department released this morning, the results of 64 090 learners who have done us proud.

The class of 2010 boasts a pass rate of 58.3%, which is an increase of 7.3% compared to the 51% achieved in 2009.  Whilst the target set for the year 2010 was 60%, and the province has fell slightly short, the increase in performance is substantial and is cause for celebration. 

Clearly, the Provincial Education Department has turned the corner and it is with a determined drive that we step into 2011 with our heads high.  In 2009, for the first time in many years, ECP moved from the bottom of the class and ranked 7th nationally out of nine provinces. 

Our strong performance in 2010 has enabled us to retain this position, ahead of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. In addition to this quantitative improvement, there has also been a qualitative output. The number of candidates qualifying for admission to a Bachelor Degree increased from 9 492 to 10 209, which is an increase from 13.9% in 2009 to 15.9%.

Diploma courses increased from 13 883 to 15 278, which is an increase from 20.4% to 23.8% and for Higher Certificate from 11 240 to 11 802, which is an increase from 16.5% to 18.4% in 2010. Hence, the improvement in both quantity and quality of our results is testimony to the impact of our focused LAIS interventions.

Analysis of 2010 Results

In 2010, there were 68 123 full time candidates who enrolled for the National Senior Certificate Exams but 64 090 wrote. The analysis of the results for 2010 is as follows:

In the high enrolment examinable subjects, the province produced improved performances in Home Languages, for example, IsiXhosa fielded 52 295 candidates and had a 99.7% pass rate, English had 7 588 candidates with a 92.6% pass and Afrikaans had 4 543 with a 95.9% pass rate.

However, we continue to be challenged by English First Additional Language where the pass rate increased by a marginal 0.4%. Compared to the 2009 pass % of 89.2%, the 2010 results increased to 89.6 % and this is a serious issue as English is the medium of instruction in the majority of schools.

In 2010 there was a significant improvement of 14.62% in Physical Sciences, where 27 163 wrote and obtained a pass rate of 43.3%, compared to the pass rate of 2009 which was 28.6%. Life Sciences also improved by 7.23% and the pass rate here stands at 65.9%. However, it is extremely pleasing that Agricultural Sciences improved by 16.17% and produced a 68.0% pass rate, although this still requires much attention given the rural context of our province.

In the field of Mathematics, the performance has been very disappointing. The pass rate was 37.5% in 2009 and marginally decreased by 0.19% in 2010 with a pass rate of 37.3%. Maths Literacy recorded a 80.0 % pass which is an improvement of 8.67%. The Mathematics Paper 3 involved only 440 candidates but moved up to 68.9 %, an improvement of 16.95 %.

History fielded 12 185 candidates and the pass percentage was 73.2%, which is an improvement of 4.91%. Disappointingly, Geography declined slightly by 1.73% from 68.5% in 2009 to 66.8 % in 2010.

In the commercial field, Accounting improved marginally by 2.86 % and the 18 055 candidates produced a 61.9% pass rate.  the Business Studies and Economics which also field a high number of candidates recorded pass rates of 64.7% and 71.2%, with improvements of 0.36 % and 4.85 % respectively. It is therefore clear that such statistical analysis shall inform the Grade 12 Intervention Programme which is part of the overall LAIS Strategy for the province.

I would like to see Subject Improvement Plans for each subject included in every School Improvement Plan and these must be compiled and operationalised as part of school readiness for 2011.

Cluster Performance

The performance across the three Clusters for 2010 was as follows:

Cluster C remains the best performing cluster with a pass rate of 62.2% which is a marginal improvement of 3.3%. Compliments to Cluster B for assisting the province and improving by 11.3% and to a lesser extent Cluster A which improved by 8.3%.

1.3 District Performance

The best performing District in the province for 2010 is CRADOCK, where 747 candidates obtained a pass rate of 75.4%. This is a welcome improvement of  7.4% by the District and congratulations to all stakeholders in Cradock on their achievement.

The most improved district in the province for 2010 is Qumbu, with a massive  21.5% increase. The pass rate for 2009 was 35.5% compared to 56.96% in 2010. Qumbu was closely followed by Cofimvaba district which improved by 20.8%.

The lowest district pass rate was recorded by Fort Beaufort at 44.01 %.

Of the 23 districts in the province 21 recorded improved pass rates ranging from 1% to 21.5%. The two districts that have disappointed the province are Libode which declined by 5.8% and Port Elizabeth, which is supposed to be the flagship of Eastern Cape but declines every year, this time with a decrease of 1%.

Strategy for 2011

A LAIS Review Summit was held on the 9 to 10 December 2010, involving all Education stakeholders which intended to reflect on the extent of application of the last year’s resolutions, with a view to consolidating and reinforcing what has worked, and also identifying what has not been accomplished. The department will continue to focus on the following key strategic interventions:

Strengthening management and governance:

Acknowledging the challenges of ineffectual leadership resulting in dysfunctional schools the reviewed LAIS POA will continue with its support interventions for School Management teams, District Based Support Teams and SGBs

Enhancing NCS implementation:

The focus on teaching learning and assessment as the core business of education shall remain a fundamental pillar of the LAIS POA. Central to this will be monitoring and support of school-based assessment.

Integrated Human Resource Development Strategy

Strengthening management and leadership and management at all levels as well as bridging content gap for teachers in all subjects and learning areas in the GET and FET band.

Social Mobilisation to support the Quality Teaching and Learning Campaign

Acknowledging that education is a societal issue, the department will continue to mobilise all stakeholders around the agenda of education transformation, parents, traditional leaders, religious fraternity and social partners

Resourcing Education

Addressing physical resource backlogs as well as the schools destroyed by tornados, human resource challenges and timely supply of LTSM to schools. On 4 to 5 January 2010 an extended broad management meeting including social partners was convened and a strategy for 2011 onwards was adopted.

The turnaround strategy focuses attention on strategic direction and specific turnaround strategies and actions required to address the key challenges facing the department in particular on the issues of management and service delivery. Central to the turnaround strategy is social mobilisation for the support of the education transformation agenda.

The following are the core principles underpinning this turnaround strategy:

Existence of proper plans and adherence thereto.

This entails ensuring the development and implementation of plans across the department including ensuring that the operations and activities of the department are driven by well conceived and properly costed plans.

Proper financial and supply chain and management.

This entails effective budget planning and expenditure management, sound financial management and effective accountability of the financial resources of the department.

Compliance with norms and standards in the implementation of programmes.

The funding and provision of education services should comply with the norms and standards for the provision of the services. Therefore, it is hoped that through the concerted effort and collaboration with our social partners and broader education stakeholders the achievement of educational outcomes will be incrementally realised.

Conclusion

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Grade 12 class of 2010 who have been successful in their examinations. A special compliment is extended to those learners who have excelled and will be receiving awards. You have made us proud and we wish you the very best with your future studies and your careers.

My sincere appreciation also goes to the parents who have supported these learners, the teachers who have worked relentlessly to ensure that these learners’ dreams are realised and to the officials who have contributed to enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in our schools.

Source: Eastern Cape Provincial Government