Issued by: Ministry of Education
STATEMENT OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROF. S.M.E BENGU ON THE 1995 MATRIC RESULTS
CAPE TOWN
28 DECEMBER 1995
I am delighted to announce that the Department of Education has once again been able to ensure that the Matric Results of, 1995 are out before the beginning of the new year, and I want to thank all that have worked on the results for the commitment they have shown in ensuring that the candidates are not kept waiting and that all candidates receive their results at the same time.
The 1995 results show a national figure of 55,25% pass. This is a 2,79 percentage drop from last years figures. The number of candidates who obtained a matriculation exemption is 15,6%, a drop of 2,3% from last year. The break down of the results per Province reflect some improvements from last year's figures in certain Provinces, while they also reflect a drop in others, but it seems that these are in line with the national situation.
I want to congratulate all the candidates who have passed their examinations this year, and to wish them all the luck as they enter the new and challenging world of life after Matric. To the candidates who distinguished themselves in a variety of ways, I want to say, "Well Done." To those of you who have not made it this year, I want to tell you not to despair, but to make sure that you take all the available opportunities to improve your situation. From our side we will do everything possible to ensure that you are given the necessary support to prepare for your supplementary Examinations in March, and for other ways of improving your position.
A number of observations can be made with regard to these results:
1. The results reflect a trend towards stabilisation within a certain percentage range this reflects the stability that is beginning to show in education in the country. 1995 has been a year without major disruptions in school education, and therefore we can proudly say from the results we have attained this year that our education has stopped its downward movement and is now at a stable level. I would therefore like to congratulate our teachers and students for the commitment they have shown to the development of a culture of learning, and urge them to continue in that direction, as there is a clear indication that stability in education is one of the important conditions for effective intervention.
2. Secondly there is a clear indication that the results of the more rural Provinces are lower than in the other Provinces. This shows that our decision to put more emphasis on the more rural Provinces is indeed a correct one. Our decision to effect equity in the budget, which will benefit the more rural provinces is but one of those steps we have taken, and these results indicate that we should continue in that direction.
3. These results further indicate the need to open the system at the exit point of pretertiary education. As it stands at the moment Matric is the only exit point for the majority of our learners, and it is clear that given its academic emphasis it will never be able to reflect the actual abilities of our students in this country because they are not being tested against their potential and ability. It therefore becomes more urgent for us to focus on the opening the system, and in this regard the Commission on Further Education, which we are now ready to appoint, will be critical to this end.
Our analysis therefore points to the fact that we have been able to arrest the trend of decline in education. However it also shows that the effects of the changes we are making in the education system will not necessarily be reflected in the results we obtain in just a few months of those changes. We need to have a sustained stability for at least a period of three to four years in order to allow the changes to be felt in the system.
Secondly, we need treat the situation with the urgency it deserves. In order to achieve this we will accelerate the drive towards redressing the urban-rural imbalances by ensuring that resources continue to be shifted to areas of greater need. Secondly we will open new learning paths for learners by taking forward the processes of the National Qualifications Framework and, in particular the Further Education Certificate. The stability we have been able to achieve in education so far needs to be maintained. But we cannot just rely on that stability to get better results in education. We need key policy instruments to ensure that the system delivers for us. We therefore cannot afford to delay important policy tools for transformation of the system, such as the National Education Policy Bill, the National Qualifications Framework, the National Open Learning Agency, the National Curriculum Framework, etc which are key to shifting the system to yield the results we all want to achieve. Without these instruments we will remain at the present level, if not go back to the trend of the decline we have been having before.
I also feel that this poses more challenges to parents, teachers, and students to work with more enthusiasm and commitment towards bettering the output of our education system. We have taken the challenge to change our education for the better. We cannot afford to relax not even for a minute. The challenge is big. As a tribute to the sacrifices of the 1976 generation, let us continue the good work as we enter 1996. "The year of Education in Africa!"