Statement by Sindi Lingela, Acting Head of Education in the Western Cape

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has presented two options to parents of learners who progressed irregularly to higher grades at Matthew Goniwe Memorial High School in Khayelitsha.

Senior officials met the parents at the school today (Thursday, 9 April 2009). The department has found that 211 learners progressed to Grades 11 and 12 this year, despite failing in 2008.

We would normally insist that they return to their previous grades, but the learners were not responsible for issuing false reports and a full term has already passed in the 2009 school year.

The department presented the parents with two options. The first was for the learners concerned to return to their previous grades, which would help to ensure that they are better prepared for the National Senior Certificate exams in 2010 and 2011.

The second option is to remain in their current grades, which carries the risk of not being adequately prepared for end-of-year exams in Grade 11 and for matric.

The department would prefer the first option, but we respect the right of parents and learners to make a choice, given the circumstances.

The department will continue providing special support to the school to enable learners to catch up, regardless of the option they choose.

Meanwhile, the department will deal harshly with those responsible for issuing false reports. We are satisfied that we have evidence of dereliction of duty.

We will charge those responsible, because they have undermined confidence in the education system and have brought the department into disrepute.

Officials of the department's Metropole East Education District investigated after receiving an unusually large number of applications for grade changes at the school on 2 March this year.

An initial investigation found that results recorded in schedules kept by the school and provided to the department did not match reports given to certain learners.

The department suspended the principal on 16 March and launched a formal investigation into the number of learners affected and the extent to which individual teachers might be involved.

They found that various records of 276 learners did not correspond. They included the records of 211 Grade 10 and 11 learners who failed, but still progressed to the next grade. Of these, 127 progressed to Grade 11 and 84 to Grade 12.

In addition, the group of 276 learners included 65 who progressed and who were eligible for promotion, but whose records also did not correspond.

District curriculum advisors studied learner portfolios and found that marks were not consistently carried over into schedules and that marks were significantly inflated in many cases.

The investigation found that progression schedules were not properly checked and verified at the end of the 2008. Schools must submit signed schedules to the district office before they issue reports at the end of the year.

In this case, the school submitted the final schedule for approval on 9 December 2008 after issuing reports on the last day of term for learners, on 5 December. The department will hold all role players to account, at the school and the district office.

Meanwhile, the school community has mobilised to improve the culture of teaching and learning at the school. The school has organised an Autumn School for all grades during the Easter holiday, in collaboration with the Metropole East Education District. We are hopeful that special programmes will make a difference to results at the end of the year.