EC Matric learners do well despite difficult circumstances

Issued by Edmund van Vuuren MPL – DA EC Shadow MEC for Education
20 Jan 2023 in Press Statements

The Democratic Alliance (DA) congratulates the Eastern Cape Matric class of 2022 for their dedication and resilience to achieve excellent results, despite the numerous challenges they faced.

We congratulate every matric learner who has reaped the rewards of their hard work. Those who have put in extra hours with Saturday classes, attending summer and winter schools and participating in the LAIC programme to make up for the lost time in classrooms due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

We also want to thank the dedicated educators and parents who have gone above and beyond to ensure that these learners get the support they need to make a success of their matric year.

The DA notes that the province has reported a 77.3% overall matric result, which is 4.3 percentage points higher than last year. It is also great news that the province is no longer lingering at the bottom of the provincial performance lists, with a reported improvement of 9.3 percentage points over the past two years.

Every year the DA calculates the real matric pass rate by considering the number of learners that dropped out and never made it to matric. To include those learners who pursue TVET training after completing Grade 9, the DA calculates the real matric pass rate from the grade 10 cohort.

The dropout rate for the province between grade 10 and grade 12 saw a staggering 46 590 learners disappear from the schooling system, which is 32.9% of the 141 583 learners who were registered for grade 10 in 2020.

This puts the real matric pass rate for the province at 51.8%.

We are extremely concerned about these missing learners. We have repeatedly called upon the province to put measures in place to identify learners at risk of falling out of the schooling system and to ensure that support structures are put in place to help them.

To those not fortunate enough to pass, failure is not the end. It is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and come back stronger. Do not give up. Use the opportunities that will be afforded to you.

The DA will continue to fight for all learners to access their full rights to education, including ensuring that school infrastructure is conducive to learning, that those who need transport have access to it and that schools have the necessary learning materials.