National Education Collaboration Trust responds to Senior Certificate results

We particularly welcome the following positive changes:

• The 10% year-on-year increase in the number of learners who wrote the examinations at the end of 2013.
• The 26% increase in the number of bachelor passes since last year and the 10.7 percentage point increase in the proportion of candidates achieving a bachelor or diploma pass since 2010.
• Significant increases in the pass rates for mathematics (5.1 percentage points) and physical science (6.1 percentage points) last year and increases of 11.7 percentage points and 19.6 percentage points for mathematics and physical science respectively over the past four years.

The NECT recognises that there is still a need to further increase the numbers of passes, and especially passes with above 50%, in key gateway subjects such as mathematics, physical science and accounting. In this regard, we look forward to working with the Department to increase the retention of learners in schools and their participation in mathematics, physical science and accounting, and to improve learners’ grades with a view of achieving the goals of the National Development Plan. Our joint efforts with the DBE will extend to primary schools where the learners will be equipped with foundational language and mathematics skills.

The NECT spent the second half of 2013 profiling the education districts it has identified for intervention and engaging with local stakeholders. This process led to the establishment of district steering committees that will oversee the implementation of interventions to improve schooling in these districts. The NECT is at the final stages of engaging service providers who will work with the beneficiary districts under the guidance of district steering committees and in collaboration with education district offices.

Sister departments of the DBE have come on board to assist with matters such as the renovation of schools, construction of footbridges for learners and augmentation of school furniture through innovative projects that create jobs for youth and women and provide skills for sentenced prisoners.

The NECT also looks forward to the report of the Ministerial Committee on the Senior Certificate which we hope will shed more light on how to improve the quality and relevance of high school graduates.

Lastly, we wish the learners and teachers a good start to 2014 and a productive year. We urge parents, teacher associations, business and the civil society to join hands to improve the quality of education.