SADTU+on+Matric+Results,+2007




 * SADTU Media Release, 28 December 2007**

=Matric Results 2007=


 * //SADTU welcomes increase in numbers writing matric//
 * //calls on Department to support repeaters, and//
 * //for renewed effort to deliver quality education//

The South African Democratic Teachers Union welcomes the prompt release of the 2007 matric results, and the fact that systems are now embedded both to prevent irregularities and to benchmark standards. The union congratulates successful candidates, their families, the teachers and the examiners. Those who did not make it this time should not give up, and we expect the Department of Education to support their efforts to re-write.

Access
We are encouraged by the increased numbers writing and passing matric: an additional 36,000 candidates over 2006 and an additional 16,714 successful matriculants, even though this may result in a slight decrease in the percentage pass rate.

We believe that to maintain the momentum for increased access, we have to understand and address the factors which lead to drop out and failure. Our sense is that issues of historical disadvantage and poverty associated with race, class and the rural-urban divide, and uneven support and poor management especially in some districts and provinces are crucial here and we would expect the Department of Education to deepen its analysis in this respect. We need more information in the following areas:


 * A large percentage of learners – over 40% - never reach matric. Exactly how many are there and what are the demographics of this group? What happens to them – do they simply join the ranks of the unemployed? – and how do we turn this situation around?


 * For those who write and fail – approximately a third, ie nearly 200,000 this year – what provision is there to support them in re-writing? We are encouraged by initial indications from the Department that efforts are being made in this respect. We would encourage every candidate who failed to register to re-write immediately, and to demand that adequate resources are availed in terms of learning materials and contact teaching. Neither must the Department outsource this responsibility to the highest bidder.


 * For those students – from poor communities who pass and achieve endorsements (exemptions) – much more needs to be done to assist access to tertiary institutions. We need to investigate the feasibility of a central admissions agency to make the process of applying more affordable, to assist in finding places and to help direct student funding to where it is needed most.

Quality
The small decline in the pass rate and the number of endorsements – for a third year – has to be cause for concern. In relation to quality, we have still not turned the corner. For the majority of working class and rural learners, education is still second rate.

SADTU wishes to raise the following points:

> * Inadequate budgets to provinces, the legacy of GEAR > * Underspending by some provinces > * Insufficient share of provincial budgets going to education > * Present mechanisms – particularly the post provisioning model – are unable to get resources to where they are needed. This results in over-large class sizes and failure to make permanent appointments. SADTU will be taking up the issue of post provisioning as a priority campaign in the new year. > * National education priorities are supported unevenly across provinces; eg. in relation to ECD and ABET. This must raise questions about the present arrangement of concurrent powers between national and provincial levels. At the very least it would be necessary to ring-fence spending on national education priorities. This constitutes a major challenge to the ANC in government and goes beyond the purview of the education department.
 * Results continue to be uneven across the provinces. We need to understand better why these differences occur, but it appears that the increase in matric candidates since 2002 – an increase of 90,000 - has not been matched by a corresponding increase in resources – particularly in some of the large poor rural provinces. The problems include:


 * The numbers attaining university endorsement has slightly dropped – to 15%. This represents a brake on the country’s skills development strategy.


 * The statistics on poorly performing schools (ie. with lower than 20% pass rate) call for attention. Whilst the total of such schools dropped from 139 to 119, this 119 were mostly a new set of schools falling into the poorly performing category. It appears that the strategy to support such schools needs to be extended beyond poorly performing schools to include identification of schools at risk of falling into this category.

As SADTU we would suggest a number of strategic challenges and priorities for 2007:

 * We need to address the systemic problems – the lack of resources in the poorest schools and the uneven performance between provinces. The Department is still falling down with respect to the delivery of basic learning materials. Overcrowding is still a reality in many schools in poor communities. Amongst others, this means addressing the post provisioning model.


 * We need to develop and support teachers. Teachers who are confident in subject matter and teaching techniques are crucial to delivering quality education. We also believe that adequate remuneration and career pathing will greatly improve morale. It is therefore vital to settle outstanding issues in dispute in regard to the OSD (Occupation Specific Dispensation) and this should not drag into 2008.


 * We also need to remind ourselves that matric is but one indicator of the health of the education system and that it takes 12 (or more) years to reach matric. Literacy and numeracy indicators were described by Mary Metcalfe as a ‘national crisis’. What are the strategies in place to address this? - otherwise, the present grade 6s become the matric failures of the future.


 * We also need the stakeholders – teachers, learners, parents and the Department - to come together and commit themselves to improving the quality of education. To this end, as SADTU, we will be joining with other stakeholders in 2008 to form local education committees. The first task will be to develop a code of conduct outlining the responsibilities of all the stakeholders. The education committees will also, amongst others, monitor the implementation of the rewrite programme.

In relation to the public service strike this year, any negative effect on the matric results must be placed at the door of the employer whose heavy handed tactics resulted in the massive strike of 2007. The negative effects were compounded by the Department’s botched national recovery plan which was only effectively implemented in KZN. It is interesting that of the 16,000 additional matriculants this year, 12,000 of them were in KZN.


 * Thulas Nxesi, General Secretary**
 * Tshedi Dipholo, Vice-President (Education)**
 * Jon Lewis, Media Officer**
 * Mafika Cele, FET Specialist**

By e-mail

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