We at the Democratic Alliance want to congratulate all successful matriculants for the 2013 school year in Mpumalanga and welcomes the province’s improved matric results.
The province’s overall pass rate of 77.6 per cent was announced last week by education MEC Ms Reginah Mhaule and it is a significant improvement from 2012’s 70 per cent pass rate and that of 64.8 per cent achieved in 2011.
All the districts in Mpumalanga improved on 2012’s results with Ehlanzeni leading the pack with an 82 per cent pass rate, up from 74 per cent in 2012.
The DA is encouraged by the performance of top pupils in the province, in particular Bhavika Sureshkumar Mistry from Hoërskool Hoogenhout in Bethal.
Bhavika achieved eight distinctions and an overall mark of 1 689 points.
Good matric results are only possible through quality education provided by dependable, diligent schools and the DA is proud that 25 schools in the province met their obligations and achieved a 100 per cent pass rate.
Hoërskool Nelspruit was the best performing school in the province for the second consecutive year.
They did not only achieve a flawless pass rate, they also secured the most distinctions in the province, 464 in total.
Furthermore, due to the outstanding performance of its pupils in maths, it was also the only school in the province that qualified for Club 100.
Although the DA is encouraged with the province’s performance, especially given that in 2009 Mpumalanga was the country’s worst performer with a meagre 47,9 per cent, we believe that further analysis into the 2013 results needs to be done before we can be assured that indeed progress is being made in terms of education in the province.
An issue the DA is particularly concerned about is the drop in the 2013 science marks, which was confirmed by Ms Mhaule.
Science, like maths, is a crucial subject in securing a matric exemption-level pass and thus more needs to be done to assist pupils in this regard.
Although a matric certificate is a stepping stone towards a better future, a tertiary education is the rock for such a future.
We welcome Ms Mhaule’s commitment to continue working at securing good results and believe this will go a long way to making life better for all.
Mr James Masango, MPL DA spokesman for education.
