Deputy-Minister for Education Enver Surty said government wants to see more learners taking mathematics and science on higher grade to provide the skills required by the country's economic sector.

Surty was speaking yesterday at Inkomazi High School at Mangweni outside Malelane, about 80 km east of Nelspruit. Mpumalanga MEC for Education Siphosezwe Masango accompanied the Deputy-Minister.

The tour highlighted the plight of rural schools as part of government's drive to focus attention in rural areas where there is great need for intervention especially in terms of education programmes.

Surty told the learners that government would award those who performed well in mathematics and science through bursaries and scholarships to further their education.

He said he was encouraged that Inkomazi High School was a Dinaledi School which means it's one of a group of government selected schools designated to serve as centres of excellence with regard to learning and teaching mathematics especially in rural areas and townships.

The deputy minister said through the project government wanted to see all learners taking mathematics and science on higher grade.

MEC Masango assured teachers and the school's principal that government was not just there for inspection but to offer their support and see whether it was all systems go at the school on the first day after the school break.

He appealed to parents to take an active role in the education of their children and he told the learners to keep vandals away from schools.

Deputy-Minister Surty also touched on the forthcoming Mpumalanga matric results that were withheld on suspicions that some learners had cheated.

He said learners would not suffer any prejudice or disadvantage when their results were released on Saturday, as Umalusi, South Africa's only quality assurance and certification council would have certified the results.

“It's important that we have credible results and we apologise to the parents and learners who had to wait further for their results when results from other provinces have long been released,” Surty said. - BuaNews.