Media Release
Minister of Education Donald Grant
Western Cape

1 January, 2013

Minister Grant: "We are confident that the Class of 2012 in the Western Cape will do themselves and this Province proud."

Statement by Minister Donald Grant, Minister of Education, Western Cape

On Thursday, the 3rd of January 2013 over 44 000 young people from the Western Cape will receive their individual National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.

We are confident that the Class of 2012 in the Western Cape will do themselves and this Province proud.

As these results are released it is important to analyse and interpret them to obtain an accurate sense of the state of education in this Province.

While there is a tendency to focus solely on the provincial pass rate (which is an important indicator), we must also consider other important factors and indicators of success.

These indicators include:

• the number of candidates writing and passing the NSC examinations;

• the number of candidates achieving access to a Bachelor's Degree pass;

• the number of candidates passing mathematics and science; and

• the number of underperforming schools (i.e. high schools with a matric pass rate of less than 60%).

If we examine indicators such as this we can then determine if the system is ultimately improving and if the Western Cape Government is fulfilling our objectives of improving the quality of education and access to education as outlined in our Strategic Plan.

Since 2009 we have seen the education outcomes in this Province improve. We hope to see further improvements in the 2012 results, especially in the number of passes achieved.

While the quantity of passes is key we are also hoping to improve the quality of passes achieved by candidates this year.

In many ways, this is significant, as universities in South Africa and abroad look at the quality of the pass and set requirements for Bachelor's Degree study and diploma study accordingly.

In 2011, we significantly increased the number of candidates who achieved access to Bachelor Degree study. 801 more learners qualified for Bachelor Degree study in 2011 than in 2010. This number has steadily increased over the last three years with the total number eligible increasing from 14 324 in 2009 to 14 414 in 2010 and 15 215 in 2011.

In the 2012 NSC results we hope to see this number increase once again.

Any analysis of the matric results must also consider the numbers and ratio of learners passing mathematics and science.

Good results in these subjects open up learning and earning opportunities for people and are important for the growth of South Africa.

Again, in 2011, we saw improvements in the results in these subjects, with the percentage pass rate of mathematics increasing from 64.9% in 2009 to 66% in 2010 and 68.7% in 2011.

In Physical Science, results increased from 52.9% in 2009 to 59.6% in 2010 and 65.3% in 2011.

We will be studying the 2012 results in these subjects very closely.

One of our achievements in the Western Cape since 2009 is in the reduction in the number of underperforming schools. In 2009, 85 schools achieved a pass rate of less than 60%. This number was reduced to 78 in 2010 and then to 30 in 2011.

In 2012, we hope to reduce this figure even further.

Measuring the state of education in South Africa and in the Western Cape requires us to look beyond the matric pass rate and to consider each of the key indicators of success as mentioned above.

For enquiries, contact Bronagh Casey:  072 724 1422 or bronagh.casey@westerncape.gov.za.

Media enquiries:
Bronagh Casey
Spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Donald Grant
Western Cape Education Department
Tel: 021 467 2377
Fax: 072 724 1422