Date: 30/12/2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Asmal: Release of 2003 matric results
SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, MP, ON THE RELEASE OF 2003 SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS RESULTS, Goodhope Auditorium, Cape Town, Tuesday, 30 December 2003
Ndi masiari, Avuxeni, Molweni, Thobela, Lotjhani, Sanibonani, Dumelang, Goeie Middag, Good Afternoon, Vannekom, Namaste, and in the international language of peace, Asalaam Alaikum, Shalom.
Greetings to all South Africans on this important day in the lives of many of our children. For young South Africans, fewer moments are as exciting or significant as the end of the matric year. It is, in a sense, the launch pad for life, a moment of optimism and energy.
This year's announcement of the Senior Certificate results takes place at a very special moment in the history of our country, on the eve of our ten years of freedom. In just under ten years, we have been hard at work in securing a better life for all our people and in building a completely new education system out of the ashes of the old.
This endeavour is unique. No other country in the world has had to face the problems of a post-apartheid world. In this regard, we have been pioneers in education reform internationally, not only in our trailblazing initiatives, but also in the wide-ranging consultative processes we have embarked on and the time period it has taken us to effect such significant change.
As a result, we now have an assessment and examination system that we can be proud of. Both internal and external reports have emphatically concluded that the administration of the 2003 Senior Certificate Examination has been beyond reproach.
This is reflected in a 74-page report, which I received the other day from Umalusi, the independent body charged with the legal responsibility of assuring the integrity and quality of the entire Senior Certificate examination process. I am pleased to report that Umalusi, an excellent shepherd for quality, has certified the results and is satisfied that the standard of the question papers was appropriate and fair; the conduct of the examinations was proper and regular and incident free; the standard of marking and internal moderation was good; the standardisation process was sufficiently rigorous; and the conduct of continuous assessment was acceptable.
Before turning to today's announcement, I must, however, emphasise that the results must not be seen as a competition between students, between schools, or between provinces. This is because we cannot compare the performance of students in a school with abundant resources to those of a school without the essentials for education.
Given the deprivation of our past, where compulsory education for all was only introduced in 1996, many of our students continue to learn under difficult conditions, despite our concerted efforts to redress this shameful legacy. Therefore, if any competition exists, it is a race to overcome the vestiges of deliberate apartheid neglect.
For this reason, unlike some countries in the northern hemisphere, we do not create league tables to rank schools according to their performance.
In fact at a recent international conference, it was clear that comparisons between countries have no scientific basis and should therefore be discontinued.
Now for the moment you have all been waiting for. It is my privilege this afternoon, to announce the consolidated national results of the 2003 Senior Certificate examination. These results are also being released in individual provinces and in schools today.
As you will hear, the 2003 results clearly show that the tide has turned for our education system. We have continued to move from the despair of our past to hope, prosperity and progress for the future. Through focused and targeted interventions, we have, once again, made significant gains in improving the national pass rate, as well as ensuring that many of the schools, which had previously been characterised as dysfunctional, have now shown considerable improvement.
You will recall that in 1999 the percentage pass rate was only 48.9%. In 2000, we achieved a national pass rate of 57.9%. In 2001, we recorded a national pass rate of 61.7%. Last year, the pass rate rose to 68.9%. And in 2003, this upward trend has continued. We have now broken the 70% barrier, with a 4.4% improvement in the national pass rate, which increases the overall pass rate to 73.3%.
If we consider where we were in 1999, we have improved the pass rate in grade 12 by 24.4% over the past five years. We have gone beyond our initial target of a 20% improvement by 2004.
There is no doubt that the 2003 results place a significant distance between the present and our past.
I call upon all South Africans to join together in congratulating the class of 2003 for their hard work and determination.
We are very fortunate to have some of these students here with us today and I wish to pay special tribute to the following representatives of the matric class of 2003 for their outstanding achievements: Lufuno Musenwa from Limpopo, Avela Mda from the Eastern Cape, Wynand du Plessis from the Eastern Cape, Mamothena Mothupi from the Free State, Celeste Henning from the Free State, Mfanafuthi Mnisi from KwaZulu-Natal, Sabelisiwe Khoza from KwaZulu-Natal, Frits van der Westhuizen from Limpopo, Michael Lynch from Mpumalanga, Jane Twala from Mpumalanga, Stephan Gouws from the Northern Cape, Danmur Lucas from the Northern Cape, Shaista Bismilla from the North West, and Vukosi Marivate from the North West.
Through them, we celebrate the work and determination of hundreds of thousands of young people who sat for the National Senior Certificate this year.
We must also pay special tribute to the parents and communities, who have guided these students through this difficult period and given them the necessary encouragement to succeed.
In addition, we must honour the thousands of teachers who have remained loyal to the very foundation of their profession. They have nurtured and developed these precious young minds in their care so as to ensure that they reach their fullest potential.
These efforts embody the true spirit of Tirisano, that of working together, which is evident in the manner in which we, as a nation, have rallied to provide high quality learning opportunities to all our children.
In doing so, we have collectively upheld the noble tradition of viewing 'every child being everyone's child and every parent being every child's parent', 'ingane iyingane yawowonke umzali, wonke umzali ungumzali wazo zonke izingane', 'elke kind is almal se kind en elke ouer is alle kinders se ouer'.
The 2003 results are undoubtedly a motion of confidence for public education and must be attributed to the fact that thousands of township and rural schools are now working well. They reflect the steps that this Government has taken to ensure that our public schools serve the common good, especially since many of them cater to impoverished communities.
This year, once again, I am also very pleased to announce that all nine provinces have recorded improvements in their Senior Certificate pass rates:
* The Northern Cape, has improved its pass rate from 89.9% in 2002 to 90.7% in 2003, an increase of 0.8%
* Gauteng improved from 78.1% in 2002 to 81.5% in 2003, an increase of 3.4%
* Limpopo improved from 69.5% in 2002 to 70.0% in 2003, an increase of 0.5%
* KwaZulu-Natal improved from 70.8% in 2002 to 77.2% in 2003, an increase of 6.4%
* Free State improved from 70.7% in 2002 to 80.0% in 2003, an increase of 9.3%. The Free State Province has improved student performances by 21% in two years
* North West improved from 67.8% in 2002 to 70.5% in 2003, an increase of 2.7%
* Western Cape improved from 86.5% in 2002 to 87.1% in 2003, an increase of 0.6%
* Eastern Cape improved from 51.8 % in 2002 to 60.0% in 2003, an increase of 8.2%
* Mpumalanga improved from 55.8% in 2002 to 58.2% in 2003, an increase of 2.4%.
Furthermore, in 2000, we began the daunting task of breaking the cycle of under-performance, through a series of focused interventions. For example all schools wrote preparatory examinations between June and September and additional classes were organised after school hours and during holidays. Another example is in the Eastern Cape. Notwithstanding the administrative and technical problems the Province faces, intervention programmes, including special tuition for 6000 students in Mathematics and Science has borne fruit.
As a result, the number of under-performing schools in the 0-20% category has decreased from 1034 in 1999 to 559 in 2000. In 2001, the number of under-performing schools decreased by 87. In 2002, they decreased to 242. This year those attaining below 20% stand at 154 out of 6045 schools.
It is very significant that while the number of schools in the 0-20% category was about 20% of the total number of schools five years ago, the number has now declined to a mere 2.5% in 2003.
In this regard, the Eastern Cape had 109 schools in the 0-20% category in 2002, which has been reduced to 56 in 2003. In the Free State there has been a reduction from 8 to only 3. In Gauteng the number of under-performing schools remains at 15, which is the same as last year. KwaZulu-Natal had 42 schools, which have now been reduced to 37. In Limpopo the number has been reduced from 20 to 15. Mpumalanga has moved from 13 to 9 schools. And the Western Cape and North West have 4 and 2 such schools respectively.
However, our focus has not only been restricted to an improvement in the pass rate. More importantly, we have been working with school communities to increase the number of students who pass with endorsement. In this way we have been seeking to improve the quality of the actual passes.
I am pleased to report that this year, 18.6% of the total number of candidates who wrote matric obtained university endorsement, as compared to 16.9% in 2002. This means that we have now improved the number of students that are eligible to seek admission to universities from 63 795 students in 1999 to 82 010 in 2003.
Those students planning to enter into the higher education system next year will do so at a very exciting stage of its development. The 1st January 2004 sees the culmination of a major restructuring exercise, which has been years in the making, to build a higher education system that is responsive to the needs and priorities of our democracy. This new diversified landscape will include the traditional universities and universities of technology, which will offer career focused higher education programmes that were previously offered by the technikons. Given the large gap between school and higher education, I wish to urge these prospective students to seek advice and support in deciding which programmes to pursue. It is never too late to change your mind.
Furthermore, no student who has the necessary academic potential should be deterred from entering the higher education system due to a lack of funds. In this regard, the Government has established a National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to assist those in need. The NSFAS now administers nearly a billion rands in loans and bursaries for nearly 100 000 deserving students each year at higher education institutions. As a result the enrolment of black students, who represent the overwhelming majority of needy students, has increased by 65% over the last 10 years.
Despite the pessimistic predictions from some quarters, NSFAS-funded students, many of whom come from the poorest areas of our country, achieve a pass rate of nearly 75%, which is far better compared to those who pay their own way through higher education.
As the Scheme develops there will be a greater focus on channelling funds to students who are studying courses in areas where there is a scarcity of skills in South Africa in line with the country's Human Resource Development Strategy, with the emphasis on science, maths technology, history and those who wish to pursue teaching as a career.
Students wishing to apply for financial assistance for 2004 are strongly encouraged to approach the Financial Aid Bureaus, which exist at all higher education institutions.
I wish, however, to emphasise that the university route is not the only option for those students wishing to study further. Various Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) have a number of learnerships registered with them, which offer opportunities for workplace learning, which can provide the necessary intermediate and higher vocational skills required for economic growth and social development. I would therefore urge all those students seeking a vocational qualification, to explore the new opportunities, which the SETAs offer.
Another route is through the Further Education and Training Colleges, which have been restructured in the past year. The 50 revamped colleges offer new and relevant courses. I am particularly excited by the excellent performance of students in these colleges in various fields of study, especially those who have achieved 100% passes in fields of study such as Aviation Metal Theory, Aircraft Theory, Motor Machining Theory, Metalliferous Mining, Animal Production, Dairy Production, Jewellery Design and Jewellery Manufacturing.
The large number of National Certificates and National N Diplomas issued in 2003 is indicative of the contribution of the Further Education and Training Colleges towards the development of the intermediate skills needed for economic and social development in our country.
It is therefore with pride that I also release the consolidated results of 2003 in the fields of Natural Sciences and General Studies. I have been informed that one of the most impressive results obtained this year was by a young person who excelled in aeronautical engineering. Copies of these consolidated results are available on our website.
For those students who did not succeed in this round, do not give up. This is not the end of the world and I encourage you to carefully analyse your strengths and limitations so as to launch a more determined attempt in 2004 or to consider the numerous avenues available in redirecting your studies.
Of course, in a changing and challenging global environment, there are fewer certainties than there might have been for the matrics of previous decades. Very little can be taken for granted. We know that for many young people, there is no easy or obvious route to a brighter future. But what we can be certain of - and this goes for parents as much as for young people, for students who have excelled as much as for those who may be disappointed - is that we have reason for optimism today as never before.
Our efforts in ensuring the improvement in the quality of the passes are not only concerned with increasing the total number of endorsements. To this end we have also identified six key subjects, those commonly termed 'gateway subjects', which are examined through national, as opposed to provincial, question papers.
For the first time this year, History was included as one of these nationally examined subjects, given its centrality to our nation-building project. The pass rate in History has now improved from 76.6% in 2002 to 85.5% in 2003.
With respect to the other nationally examined papers, Accounting has improved from 84.7% in 2002 to 91.1% in 2003 and Biology from 71.4% in 2002 to 73.4% in 2003. Our targeted interventions in Mathematics and Physical Science have also yielded success. Mathematics has improved from 56.1% in 2002 to 58.8% in 2003, while Physical Science has improved from 76.4% in 2002 to 80.3% in 2003. The results for English Second Language, which is taken by the vast majority of our students, have stabilised to 97.1% in 2003.
As with quality, equity has also been one of the key goals driving our efforts to turn our education system around. Our initiatives have been geared towards redressing the imbalances of the past, with a deliberate emphasis towards those historically disadvantaged groups. Therefore the participation and indeed achievement of the girl child is a cornerstone of our transformation agenda.
In this regard, I am pleased to report an increase in the participation of girls from 148 577 in 2001 to 162 148 in 2002. This year the number of girls who wrote the examination increased to 238 761, representing 54% of all students who wrote the examination. This increased participation has been matched by an increase in the pass rate of the girl child. In 2001, 60.1% of girls passed, this increased to 67.4% in 2002, while in 2003 this rose to 71.8%.
We have also directed our efforts in ensuring that girls are encouraged to participate in those subjects that they have been traditionally excluded from for various reasons, such as Mathematics and Physical Science. Although the participation of girls in these subjects has stabilised over the past two years, there has been an increase in their overall pass rate. In Mathematics, the pass rate for girls improved from 51.9% in 2002 to 54.1% in 2003. In Physical Science, the pass rate improved from 74.3% in 2002 to 78.3% in 2003.
These outstanding results do not exist in isolation from the broader successes that we have achieved in our complex but necessary journey to build an education and training system fit for the 21st century.
To this end, we have worked hard to ensure higher rates of attendance at schools by both teachers and students. As a result the system is stable and more time is now being devoted to the teaching and learning process.
Further, our incentive schemes, which include the National Teaching Awards and the Most Improved School Awards, have served as a source of inspiration and encouragement to both schools and teachers.
Also, our efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning through the provision of additional classrooms, the adequate supply of textbooks and the establishment of schools as safe and secure learning environments, have all had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the education system.
In addition, the quality of school governance and leadership has improved through training and capacity building for principals. The involvement of school governing bodies has, in many instances, added value to the management and leadership in our schools. Through these bodies parents and local communities are now beginning to reclaim their schools as places of quality learning.
In 1999, in his first address to Parliament as the newly elected Head of State, President Mbeki called on us to ensure that "education and training ... constitute the decisive drivers in our efforts to build a winning nation". He therefore committed the Government to "... intensifying its focus on education so we succeed in producing an educated and skilled population". In doing so, he called on us to take "...all the necessary steps ... to ensure that learners learn, educators educate and managers manage".
Today's results are a clear indication of the significant strides we have taken in responding to the President's injunction and we will leave no stone unturned in meeting the challenges that still lie ahead.
We have therefore set ourselves the following targets, which we will achieve over the coming period:
First, we will continue on our path of providing a more diversified curriculum for students in Further Education and Training, moving away from the sole emphasis on the academic National Senior Certificate. We have improved the delivery of the current curriculum and improved participation and performance of the 16-18 year old cohort of students. What remains is for the curriculum to provide a wider range of subject combinations, which will ensure that students gain access to those much needed skills, particularly in the field of vocational education and training. In doing so, we will focus on the delivery of a curriculum that gives students an opportunity to specialise on the basis of their interests, aspirations and potential.
Second, evidence indicates that the performance of most students, in particular African children from rural and township schools, is negatively affected by the fact that the language of teaching and learning is not their mother tongue. English Second Language is the vehicle by which the majority of our children learn. We will therefore focus on the improvement of English Second Language teaching so as to bolster student confidence and enhance the learning process, which will in turn, we hope, improve student performance.
Third, we have taken a keen interest in the potential of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to bridge the divide between the advantaged and disadvantaged. To this end we will ensure that all our students have access to the benefits of this technology to enhance learning and teaching opportunities by 2013.
Fourth, we will also focus on the development of improved quality assurance systems, so that we can compare our performance with that of the best in the world. We are currently preparing for the implementation of the Integrated Performance Development System, including Whole School Evaluation, in 2004, as agreed with all the teacher unions.
Fifth, the strengthening of teaching in the gateway subjects will remain a priority. Our efforts in this regard will be increased and we will continue to encourage students to take these subjects as well as support them to enhance their performance. In addition, the introduction of the new outcomes-based curriculum in Grades 10-12, in 2006, will for the first time ensure that every student is mathematically literate when they exit the schooling system.
Our ability to meet the challenges we have set ourselves will come to nothing without the enduring support of those who have worked side by side with us in promoting excellence in education. To all our partners in the private sector, non-governmental organisations, and funding agencies both local and international, we say 'ningadinwa nangomuso'.
I also wish to express my gratitude to the Deputy Minister, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, for his solidarity and his able leadership in our various interventions. The MECs, together with their officials, also deserve a special mention for ensuring that our policies take root at the chalk face.
I would be remiss if I did not express a word of appreciation to my officials, who have once more sacrificed their holidays and worked over Christmas to make it possible for the Ministry of Education to maintain the now well established tradition of announcing the results in the same year in which the examinations were written.
I would like to thank the electronic and print media for their continued interest in education in South Africa, although those newspapers, such as the Mercury, which broke the embargo on the release of the results cannot expect to receive embargoed copies next year. We therefore call into question the commitment of those newspapers to the co-operation agreement with ourselves in regard to the release of the results. Ethics and morality and trust also apply to newspapers.
Finally, the South African Broadcasting Corporation must also be thanked for their coverage of the results. They continue to provide us with an opportunity to reach out to parents and students and their efforts in this regard are part of the best tradition in public broadcasting.
As I mentioned earlier, as we approach the 10th anniversary of our freedom, we are consolidating the gains of democracy, giving substance to the ideals we struggled so long to achieve. We are gaining ground.
We all have a role in this. We all stand to benefit from the collective effort, and that is what it must be if we are to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that our past and present confront us with.
There are no quick solutions, no easy answers. But, with optimism and effort, rewards are guaranteed.
Our schools prove it. In the past four years, hard work and determination have enabled us to dramatically improve the matric pass rate. Of course, results do not on their own deliver success. It is the substance of education that matters, and, throughout the country, across all grades, our commitment to better schooling for all is bearing fruit.
We must not forget that there can be no wealth, no prosperity, no real citizenship without knowledge and without skills. Equipped with these vital things, we create our opportunities, we assure our prosperity, we build on our achievements, we banish despair.
And while much has been achieved in the struggle to improve the quality of education and training, much more remains to be done. As Nigerian poet Ben Okri reminds us:
They are only the exhausted who think
That they have arrived
At the final destination
The end of their road
With all of their dreams achieved
And no new dreams to hold
We are still far from our final destination. Our efforts to take our education system to the highest levels of quality will continue today, tomorrow and in the next decade of our freedom as our children deserve no less.
I thank you
Issued by the Ministry of Education, 30 December 2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Asmal: Release of 2003 matric results
SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, MP, ON THE RELEASE OF 2003 SENIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS RESULTS, Goodhope Auditorium, Cape Town, Tuesday, 30 December 2003
Ndi masiari, Avuxeni, Molweni, Thobela, Lotjhani, Sanibonani, Dumelang, Goeie Middag, Good Afternoon, Vannekom, Namaste, and in the international language of peace, Asalaam Alaikum, Shalom.
Greetings to all South Africans on this important day in the lives of many of our children. For young South Africans, fewer moments are as exciting or significant as the end of the matric year. It is, in a sense, the launch pad for life, a moment of optimism and energy.
This year's announcement of the Senior Certificate results takes place at a very special moment in the history of our country, on the eve of our ten years of freedom. In just under ten years, we have been hard at work in securing a better life for all our people and in building a completely new education system out of the ashes of the old.
This endeavour is unique. No other country in the world has had to face the problems of a post-apartheid world. In this regard, we have been pioneers in education reform internationally, not only in our trailblazing initiatives, but also in the wide-ranging consultative processes we have embarked on and the time period it has taken us to effect such significant change.
As a result, we now have an assessment and examination system that we can be proud of. Both internal and external reports have emphatically concluded that the administration of the 2003 Senior Certificate Examination has been beyond reproach.
This is reflected in a 74-page report, which I received the other day from Umalusi, the independent body charged with the legal responsibility of assuring the integrity and quality of the entire Senior Certificate examination process. I am pleased to report that Umalusi, an excellent shepherd for quality, has certified the results and is satisfied that the standard of the question papers was appropriate and fair; the conduct of the examinations was proper and regular and incident free; the standard of marking and internal moderation was good; the standardisation process was sufficiently rigorous; and the conduct of continuous assessment was acceptable.
Before turning to today's announcement, I must, however, emphasise that the results must not be seen as a competition between students, between schools, or between provinces. This is because we cannot compare the performance of students in a school with abundant resources to those of a school without the essentials for education.
Given the deprivation of our past, where compulsory education for all was only introduced in 1996, many of our students continue to learn under difficult conditions, despite our concerted efforts to redress this shameful legacy. Therefore, if any competition exists, it is a race to overcome the vestiges of deliberate apartheid neglect.
For this reason, unlike some countries in the northern hemisphere, we do not create league tables to rank schools according to their performance.
In fact at a recent international conference, it was clear that comparisons between countries have no scientific basis and should therefore be discontinued.
Now for the moment you have all been waiting for. It is my privilege this afternoon, to announce the consolidated national results of the 2003 Senior Certificate examination. These results are also being released in individual provinces and in schools today.
As you will hear, the 2003 results clearly show that the tide has turned for our education system. We have continued to move from the despair of our past to hope, prosperity and progress for the future. Through focused and targeted interventions, we have, once again, made significant gains in improving the national pass rate, as well as ensuring that many of the schools, which had previously been characterised as dysfunctional, have now shown considerable improvement.
You will recall that in 1999 the percentage pass rate was only 48.9%. In 2000, we achieved a national pass rate of 57.9%. In 2001, we recorded a national pass rate of 61.7%. Last year, the pass rate rose to 68.9%. And in 2003, this upward trend has continued. We have now broken the 70% barrier, with a 4.4% improvement in the national pass rate, which increases the overall pass rate to 73.3%.
If we consider where we were in 1999, we have improved the pass rate in grade 12 by 24.4% over the past five years. We have gone beyond our initial target of a 20% improvement by 2004.
There is no doubt that the 2003 results place a significant distance between the present and our past.
I call upon all South Africans to join together in congratulating the class of 2003 for their hard work and determination.
We are very fortunate to have some of these students here with us today and I wish to pay special tribute to the following representatives of the matric class of 2003 for their outstanding achievements: Lufuno Musenwa from Limpopo, Avela Mda from the Eastern Cape, Wynand du Plessis from the Eastern Cape, Mamothena Mothupi from the Free State, Celeste Henning from the Free State, Mfanafuthi Mnisi from KwaZulu-Natal, Sabelisiwe Khoza from KwaZulu-Natal, Frits van der Westhuizen from Limpopo, Michael Lynch from Mpumalanga, Jane Twala from Mpumalanga, Stephan Gouws from the Northern Cape, Danmur Lucas from the Northern Cape, Shaista Bismilla from the North West, and Vukosi Marivate from the North West.
Through them, we celebrate the work and determination of hundreds of thousands of young people who sat for the National Senior Certificate this year.
We must also pay special tribute to the parents and communities, who have guided these students through this difficult period and given them the necessary encouragement to succeed.
In addition, we must honour the thousands of teachers who have remained loyal to the very foundation of their profession. They have nurtured and developed these precious young minds in their care so as to ensure that they reach their fullest potential.
These efforts embody the true spirit of Tirisano, that of working together, which is evident in the manner in which we, as a nation, have rallied to provide high quality learning opportunities to all our children.
In doing so, we have collectively upheld the noble tradition of viewing 'every child being everyone's child and every parent being every child's parent', 'ingane iyingane yawowonke umzali, wonke umzali ungumzali wazo zonke izingane', 'elke kind is almal se kind en elke ouer is alle kinders se ouer'.
The 2003 results are undoubtedly a motion of confidence for public education and must be attributed to the fact that thousands of township and rural schools are now working well. They reflect the steps that this Government has taken to ensure that our public schools serve the common good, especially since many of them cater to impoverished communities.
This year, once again, I am also very pleased to announce that all nine provinces have recorded improvements in their Senior Certificate pass rates:
* The Northern Cape, has improved its pass rate from 89.9% in 2002 to 90.7% in 2003, an increase of 0.8%
* Gauteng improved from 78.1% in 2002 to 81.5% in 2003, an increase of 3.4%
* Limpopo improved from 69.5% in 2002 to 70.0% in 2003, an increase of 0.5%
* KwaZulu-Natal improved from 70.8% in 2002 to 77.2% in 2003, an increase of 6.4%
* Free State improved from 70.7% in 2002 to 80.0% in 2003, an increase of 9.3%. The Free State Province has improved student performances by 21% in two years
* North West improved from 67.8% in 2002 to 70.5% in 2003, an increase of 2.7%
* Western Cape improved from 86.5% in 2002 to 87.1% in 2003, an increase of 0.6%
* Eastern Cape improved from 51.8 % in 2002 to 60.0% in 2003, an increase of 8.2%
* Mpumalanga improved from 55.8% in 2002 to 58.2% in 2003, an increase of 2.4%.
Furthermore, in 2000, we began the daunting task of breaking the cycle of under-performance, through a series of focused interventions. For example all schools wrote preparatory examinations between June and September and additional classes were organised after school hours and during holidays. Another example is in the Eastern Cape. Notwithstanding the administrative and technical problems the Province faces, intervention programmes, including special tuition for 6000 students in Mathematics and Science has borne fruit.
As a result, the number of under-performing schools in the 0-20% category has decreased from 1034 in 1999 to 559 in 2000. In 2001, the number of under-performing schools decreased by 87. In 2002, they decreased to 242. This year those attaining below 20% stand at 154 out of 6045 schools.
It is very significant that while the number of schools in the 0-20% category was about 20% of the total number of schools five years ago, the number has now declined to a mere 2.5% in 2003.
In this regard, the Eastern Cape had 109 schools in the 0-20% category in 2002, which has been reduced to 56 in 2003. In the Free State there has been a reduction from 8 to only 3. In Gauteng the number of under-performing schools remains at 15, which is the same as last year. KwaZulu-Natal had 42 schools, which have now been reduced to 37. In Limpopo the number has been reduced from 20 to 15. Mpumalanga has moved from 13 to 9 schools. And the Western Cape and North West have 4 and 2 such schools respectively.
However, our focus has not only been restricted to an improvement in the pass rate. More importantly, we have been working with school communities to increase the number of students who pass with endorsement. In this way we have been seeking to improve the quality of the actual passes.
I am pleased to report that this year, 18.6% of the total number of candidates who wrote matric obtained university endorsement, as compared to 16.9% in 2002. This means that we have now improved the number of students that are eligible to seek admission to universities from 63 795 students in 1999 to 82 010 in 2003.
Those students planning to enter into the higher education system next year will do so at a very exciting stage of its development. The 1st January 2004 sees the culmination of a major restructuring exercise, which has been years in the making, to build a higher education system that is responsive to the needs and priorities of our democracy. This new diversified landscape will include the traditional universities and universities of technology, which will offer career focused higher education programmes that were previously offered by the technikons. Given the large gap between school and higher education, I wish to urge these prospective students to seek advice and support in deciding which programmes to pursue. It is never too late to change your mind.
Furthermore, no student who has the necessary academic potential should be deterred from entering the higher education system due to a lack of funds. In this regard, the Government has established a National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to assist those in need. The NSFAS now administers nearly a billion rands in loans and bursaries for nearly 100 000 deserving students each year at higher education institutions. As a result the enrolment of black students, who represent the overwhelming majority of needy students, has increased by 65% over the last 10 years.
Despite the pessimistic predictions from some quarters, NSFAS-funded students, many of whom come from the poorest areas of our country, achieve a pass rate of nearly 75%, which is far better compared to those who pay their own way through higher education.
As the Scheme develops there will be a greater focus on channelling funds to students who are studying courses in areas where there is a scarcity of skills in South Africa in line with the country's Human Resource Development Strategy, with the emphasis on science, maths technology, history and those who wish to pursue teaching as a career.
Students wishing to apply for financial assistance for 2004 are strongly encouraged to approach the Financial Aid Bureaus, which exist at all higher education institutions.
I wish, however, to emphasise that the university route is not the only option for those students wishing to study further. Various Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) have a number of learnerships registered with them, which offer opportunities for workplace learning, which can provide the necessary intermediate and higher vocational skills required for economic growth and social development. I would therefore urge all those students seeking a vocational qualification, to explore the new opportunities, which the SETAs offer.
Another route is through the Further Education and Training Colleges, which have been restructured in the past year. The 50 revamped colleges offer new and relevant courses. I am particularly excited by the excellent performance of students in these colleges in various fields of study, especially those who have achieved 100% passes in fields of study such as Aviation Metal Theory, Aircraft Theory, Motor Machining Theory, Metalliferous Mining, Animal Production, Dairy Production, Jewellery Design and Jewellery Manufacturing.
The large number of National Certificates and National N Diplomas issued in 2003 is indicative of the contribution of the Further Education and Training Colleges towards the development of the intermediate skills needed for economic and social development in our country.
It is therefore with pride that I also release the consolidated results of 2003 in the fields of Natural Sciences and General Studies. I have been informed that one of the most impressive results obtained this year was by a young person who excelled in aeronautical engineering. Copies of these consolidated results are available on our website.
For those students who did not succeed in this round, do not give up. This is not the end of the world and I encourage you to carefully analyse your strengths and limitations so as to launch a more determined attempt in 2004 or to consider the numerous avenues available in redirecting your studies.
Of course, in a changing and challenging global environment, there are fewer certainties than there might have been for the matrics of previous decades. Very little can be taken for granted. We know that for many young people, there is no easy or obvious route to a brighter future. But what we can be certain of - and this goes for parents as much as for young people, for students who have excelled as much as for those who may be disappointed - is that we have reason for optimism today as never before.
Our efforts in ensuring the improvement in the quality of the passes are not only concerned with increasing the total number of endorsements. To this end we have also identified six key subjects, those commonly termed 'gateway subjects', which are examined through national, as opposed to provincial, question papers.
For the first time this year, History was included as one of these nationally examined subjects, given its centrality to our nation-building project. The pass rate in History has now improved from 76.6% in 2002 to 85.5% in 2003.
With respect to the other nationally examined papers, Accounting has improved from 84.7% in 2002 to 91.1% in 2003 and Biology from 71.4% in 2002 to 73.4% in 2003. Our targeted interventions in Mathematics and Physical Science have also yielded success. Mathematics has improved from 56.1% in 2002 to 58.8% in 2003, while Physical Science has improved from 76.4% in 2002 to 80.3% in 2003. The results for English Second Language, which is taken by the vast majority of our students, have stabilised to 97.1% in 2003.
As with quality, equity has also been one of the key goals driving our efforts to turn our education system around. Our initiatives have been geared towards redressing the imbalances of the past, with a deliberate emphasis towards those historically disadvantaged groups. Therefore the participation and indeed achievement of the girl child is a cornerstone of our transformation agenda.
In this regard, I am pleased to report an increase in the participation of girls from 148 577 in 2001 to 162 148 in 2002. This year the number of girls who wrote the examination increased to 238 761, representing 54% of all students who wrote the examination. This increased participation has been matched by an increase in the pass rate of the girl child. In 2001, 60.1% of girls passed, this increased to 67.4% in 2002, while in 2003 this rose to 71.8%.
We have also directed our efforts in ensuring that girls are encouraged to participate in those subjects that they have been traditionally excluded from for various reasons, such as Mathematics and Physical Science. Although the participation of girls in these subjects has stabilised over the past two years, there has been an increase in their overall pass rate. In Mathematics, the pass rate for girls improved from 51.9% in 2002 to 54.1% in 2003. In Physical Science, the pass rate improved from 74.3% in 2002 to 78.3% in 2003.
These outstanding results do not exist in isolation from the broader successes that we have achieved in our complex but necessary journey to build an education and training system fit for the 21st century.
To this end, we have worked hard to ensure higher rates of attendance at schools by both teachers and students. As a result the system is stable and more time is now being devoted to the teaching and learning process.
Further, our incentive schemes, which include the National Teaching Awards and the Most Improved School Awards, have served as a source of inspiration and encouragement to both schools and teachers.
Also, our efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning through the provision of additional classrooms, the adequate supply of textbooks and the establishment of schools as safe and secure learning environments, have all had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the education system.
In addition, the quality of school governance and leadership has improved through training and capacity building for principals. The involvement of school governing bodies has, in many instances, added value to the management and leadership in our schools. Through these bodies parents and local communities are now beginning to reclaim their schools as places of quality learning.
In 1999, in his first address to Parliament as the newly elected Head of State, President Mbeki called on us to ensure that "education and training ... constitute the decisive drivers in our efforts to build a winning nation". He therefore committed the Government to "... intensifying its focus on education so we succeed in producing an educated and skilled population". In doing so, he called on us to take "...all the necessary steps ... to ensure that learners learn, educators educate and managers manage".
Today's results are a clear indication of the significant strides we have taken in responding to the President's injunction and we will leave no stone unturned in meeting the challenges that still lie ahead.
We have therefore set ourselves the following targets, which we will achieve over the coming period:
First, we will continue on our path of providing a more diversified curriculum for students in Further Education and Training, moving away from the sole emphasis on the academic National Senior Certificate. We have improved the delivery of the current curriculum and improved participation and performance of the 16-18 year old cohort of students. What remains is for the curriculum to provide a wider range of subject combinations, which will ensure that students gain access to those much needed skills, particularly in the field of vocational education and training. In doing so, we will focus on the delivery of a curriculum that gives students an opportunity to specialise on the basis of their interests, aspirations and potential.
Second, evidence indicates that the performance of most students, in particular African children from rural and township schools, is negatively affected by the fact that the language of teaching and learning is not their mother tongue. English Second Language is the vehicle by which the majority of our children learn. We will therefore focus on the improvement of English Second Language teaching so as to bolster student confidence and enhance the learning process, which will in turn, we hope, improve student performance.
Third, we have taken a keen interest in the potential of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to bridge the divide between the advantaged and disadvantaged. To this end we will ensure that all our students have access to the benefits of this technology to enhance learning and teaching opportunities by 2013.
Fourth, we will also focus on the development of improved quality assurance systems, so that we can compare our performance with that of the best in the world. We are currently preparing for the implementation of the Integrated Performance Development System, including Whole School Evaluation, in 2004, as agreed with all the teacher unions.
Fifth, the strengthening of teaching in the gateway subjects will remain a priority. Our efforts in this regard will be increased and we will continue to encourage students to take these subjects as well as support them to enhance their performance. In addition, the introduction of the new outcomes-based curriculum in Grades 10-12, in 2006, will for the first time ensure that every student is mathematically literate when they exit the schooling system.
Our ability to meet the challenges we have set ourselves will come to nothing without the enduring support of those who have worked side by side with us in promoting excellence in education. To all our partners in the private sector, non-governmental organisations, and funding agencies both local and international, we say 'ningadinwa nangomuso'.
I also wish to express my gratitude to the Deputy Minister, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, for his solidarity and his able leadership in our various interventions. The MECs, together with their officials, also deserve a special mention for ensuring that our policies take root at the chalk face.
I would be remiss if I did not express a word of appreciation to my officials, who have once more sacrificed their holidays and worked over Christmas to make it possible for the Ministry of Education to maintain the now well established tradition of announcing the results in the same year in which the examinations were written.
I would like to thank the electronic and print media for their continued interest in education in South Africa, although those newspapers, such as the Mercury, which broke the embargo on the release of the results cannot expect to receive embargoed copies next year. We therefore call into question the commitment of those newspapers to the co-operation agreement with ourselves in regard to the release of the results. Ethics and morality and trust also apply to newspapers.
Finally, the South African Broadcasting Corporation must also be thanked for their coverage of the results. They continue to provide us with an opportunity to reach out to parents and students and their efforts in this regard are part of the best tradition in public broadcasting.
As I mentioned earlier, as we approach the 10th anniversary of our freedom, we are consolidating the gains of democracy, giving substance to the ideals we struggled so long to achieve. We are gaining ground.
We all have a role in this. We all stand to benefit from the collective effort, and that is what it must be if we are to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that our past and present confront us with.
There are no quick solutions, no easy answers. But, with optimism and effort, rewards are guaranteed.
Our schools prove it. In the past four years, hard work and determination have enabled us to dramatically improve the matric pass rate. Of course, results do not on their own deliver success. It is the substance of education that matters, and, throughout the country, across all grades, our commitment to better schooling for all is bearing fruit.
We must not forget that there can be no wealth, no prosperity, no real citizenship without knowledge and without skills. Equipped with these vital things, we create our opportunities, we assure our prosperity, we build on our achievements, we banish despair.
And while much has been achieved in the struggle to improve the quality of education and training, much more remains to be done. As Nigerian poet Ben Okri reminds us:
They are only the exhausted who think
That they have arrived
At the final destination
The end of their road
With all of their dreams achieved
And no new dreams to hold
We are still far from our final destination. Our efforts to take our education system to the highest levels of quality will continue today, tomorrow and in the next decade of our freedom as our children deserve no less.
I thank you
Issued by the Ministry of Education, 30 December 2003
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