Heads must roll at under performing schools, says Zuma

President Jacob Zuma has called for school principals and management teams to be punished for poor pass rates at their schools.

He also said all schools must deliver books before the end of this month.

Opening the basic education lekgotla held in Pretoria on Tuesday, Zuma called for action against ineptitude.

“I wish to emphasise that there must be consequences for principals and school management teams who recorded a zero percent pass rate. We must not allow any room in the public service for ineptitude and incompetence. Everyone must strive for excellence, more so in education.”

The warning came against the backdrop of the slightly improved overall matric pass rate for the class of 2016 at 72.5%, compared with 70.7% in 2015.

The Free State topped them all at 88.2%, while the usual culprits – Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal – lagged behind at 59.3%, 62.5% and 66.4%, respectively.

Zuma’s statement came a day after Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga warned underperforming provinces to pull up their socks. She said political leaders in the provinces must demand accountability for poor performance.

“Let us attend to shortcomings and ensure that we continue improving performance in education,” said Zuma. “We have no choice but to succeed. Education is our only weapon towards prosperity.”

He called on provinces that were slow in the delivery of books to speed up the process so all children could have books in their hands before the end of January.

“Government pays for these books. Administrators must ensure they reach our children on time every year,” he said.

Zuma conceded that “mud schools” had not yet been eradicated, “but progress has been made toward eliminating them”. They were being replaced with state-of-the-art structures, especially in historically neglected areas.

A total of 155 new schools had been completed in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and other provinces, some with sanitation, water and electricity.

He said nine million children were given free food daily under the nutrition programme.

“We have also expanded access to free education for children from poor households,” he said.

“More than nine million children attend no-fee schools, which is at least 80% of our schools.”

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