MEC for Education Ishmael Kgetjepe at the Launch of Matric Monday 2015, Dr Cn Phatudi Fet College, Greater Tubatse Local Municipality, Limpopo
Programme Director,
Executive Mayor,
The Local Mayor Our councillors,
Our various stakeholders,
Acting HoD,
Senior management of the department,
Circuit Managers,
School principals,
School governing bodies,
Our educators,
Our learners,
Invited guests,
Ladies and gentlemen
I wish to greet everyone and express my gratitude that you could all join us today. It is again that time of the year when the final examinations are around the corner and the excitement of the future ahead of our grade 12 class of 2015. Today, we are in this part of our province to launch a very important matric programme, the Dinaledi tse Gadimang Matric Monday 2015. This launch signals the subsequent countdown to the Matric National Senior Certificate examinations for 102 633 learners to be written in 1 695 centres in the province. In any countdown, we must bear in mind that each and every passing day counts and it counts double and even more.
It is in that context that we are launching matric Monday to drum up any kind of support that will get our learners all over the province doubling their efforts towards the finish line. In this important time in the academic lives of learners of this province, we appeal to our influential leaders to make time every Monday to visit schools within their reach, more especially the schools with the history of underperformance, and give that final message of motivation and support. This is a societal matter and together as various stakeholders we can make serious inroads in tilting the scale of underperformance in certain schools to that of success.
We want to have learners together with their educators tying all the loose ends in their preparation in this final hurdle that determines the success in this year’s examinations. I am sure that most our learners are by now tired of all the advice about the Senior Certificate Examinations and how the grade 12 results will determine their future. Teachers and parents must be on you all the time about putting in every effort for “this is it”. Indeed, this is it and we appeal to our learners not to be weary of any advice given freely as a way of motivating and getting whatever is left of you in your final touch ups. This period should be seen as an exciting period as the examinations are a culmination of months of hard work since the beginning of the year.
We must see this period as a crucial platform for all our learners to launch their desired future. To us as government and our various stakeholders that we have partnered with, examinations are crucial and enable us as government to assess the degree of impact of our intervention. It is these examinations that will tell us how much support we have given to this class of 2015, which is the second cohort of grade 12 learners to sit for the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) aligned National Senior Certificate Examinations. As you would rightfully know, CAPS was introduced to make the curriculum more accessible to teachers by providing them with clearer specification of what should be taught on a term-by-term basis.
With a few days left, 25 days to be precise, before the examinations start, we are satisfied that all measures are in place to ensure an incident-free 2015 National Senior Certificate exams. Printing of question papers and answer books is on course and this will be delivered to the identified distribution points. 19 marking centres have been identified and preparations are also on course. Markers have been selected and the process of issuing appointment letters is equally on course. The monitoring of exam process is strengthened at all the exam centres to ensure that the integrity of credibility of the process is beyond reproach. Our invigilators will be monitoring the exams to prevent irregularities. Preparations are in place to collect scripts on exam days.
With everything on government side in place, we depend on parents and guardians to motivate and assist the class of 2015 to perform to the best of its ability. We urge parents and guardians even our stakeholders to support all learners by creating the right environment for proper study at home. I am appealing so because there is a direct link between the good performances of learners and where parents are actively involved taking an active interest in the affairs of their children’s education.
We make a strong appeal to principals, educators, SGBs, SMT and all our stakeholders with whom we travelled the 2015 academic road, for that final push. Let us in the remaining time take a quick stock of what we have done and reflect what we must do in closing the gaps if any and also strengthening and emphasizing where we need to do so. A special appeal goes to our communities that our learners cannot afford any disruptions and we call for calm in this period when our learners need all the support and assistance.
We know that teaching and learning was affected in certain parts of our province and we have intervened accordingly calling for sanity. We have as well initiated programmes to catch up the lost times and fortunately our experienced teachers know what to do to address this unfortunate scenarios. We also called upon traditional leaders and religious leaders in the affected areas to work with us in terms of motivational talks that will get our learners focusing better on the job at hand. Our teachers were the key and exceptional drivers of performance at schools. Our learners must know that their teachers, friends and parents have all played crucial roles in the academic development of each and every learner. But the big question is, what have you been doing as learners to date to prepare yourselves for these examinations?
Throughout the year, we have been talking about your teacher’s responsibility for inspiring you and pushing you to learn. We have talked about parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track and get your school work done and that learners do not spend every waking hour in front of the TV. We also talked about government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals and turning around schools that are not working where learners are not getting opportunities they deserve.
At the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless our learners fulfil their responsibilities. If learners did not show up to those schools, listen to teachers, listen to parents, grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed, they must know it will be difficult. This is the responsibility each learner should have shown during the course of the year. We have been working hard as the department together with our stakeholders to fix up your classrooms, get you the books, the equipment and other related learning and teaching material.
But have you done your part too as learners. If you have done your part, that is great because time to prove how much you have done and prepared is finally here. We expect great things from our class of 2015 more especially here in Sekhukhune District where the performance in the past years left much to be desired. May I remind you that the Premier has directed us to achieve 80% in the 2015 matric results. It is finally coming down to what learners have been doing. I hope you have equally played your part in who you become. What we want from each and every learner in the next year, is for them to be bidding farewell to their teachers , their parents, friends as they go away to study at various institutions of higher learning.
Your hunger to work hard in this remaining time is the most powerful tool you can use to change your fortunes and ultimately the world. The world needs educated people and for one to be relevant these days, education is a must- have. But it will not be easy if your hunger to learn and work hard only starts now as it should have started right in the first day of school. It is going to hurt if you did not study steadily all year round. If you did not use the time productively while there were some disruptions, it will be difficult and we urge you to double your efforts for it is always best to use the first chance effectively.
We must use the remaining time effectively including the upcoming school holidays to gauge ourselves and make the necessary amends because matric is not for the woefully underprepared. You will be rewarded for as long as you have identified your goals and worked hard to achieve them. Because we have all the confidence that you will not disappoint us, we want to urge you to choose your careers carefully especially focusing on the scarce skills required by the country. The fact that government has a number of vacancies wherein it cannot find suitably qualified South Africans to fill them is a very serious concern and we expect you to change the status quo.
In conclusion, for your final examinations, I wish you strength and focus. Strength to study very hard until it hurts because if it does not hurt you must know you have not started. Focus and indeed focus on the job at hand and nothing else. To the Limpopo class of 2015, we are saying this is it and get down with it knowing that the entire province is right behind you, so please give it your very best shot.
Get serious and put your best effort in everything you do in the remaining time. We expect great things from each one of you. We know you can do it. Make us all proud.
Let us march towards the 80% mark and more. I thank you very much.
