Gungubele congratulated the Gauteng class of 2015 for obtaining an 84.2 per cent pass rate and encouraged them to aim for the stars as they venture into higher education and training.
“The future of the country really looks bright. We have watched how over the years generations and generations of our children have excelled in their matric exams and this can only translate into a better and much improved South Africa,” he said.
“Education is the answer to most of our problems as a country. It provides clarity on many issues and that is why our forebears made it their business that we do not lose focus as a country even during the difficult times of the struggle for liberation.”
The mayor praised Ekurhuleni South district for winning the most improved district category. The district chalked up 83.1 per cent in 2015, a 3.35 per cent improvement. In general, township schools that are part of the special intervention programme, performed very well.
The mayor noted that this performance comes against a backdrop of high in-migration. Ekurhuleni has the highest number of informal settlements and educators have to address knowledge gaps of learners that arrive in Gauteng to do high school.
A former teacher himself, Gungubele said the ever-improving results were a ‘clear demonstration that the youth of the region now understand the importance of education.’
“You have done us proud and we are extremely proud of you. Considering that in 2009 the matric pass rate was hovering at a mere 61 per cent, it is amazing how the results have improved over the years,” he said.
“We must be grateful to the educators, schools governing bodies, the learners, government and other stakeholders for their role in ensuring that we continue to improve our performance.”
Innovations such as the paperless programme introduced by the Gauteng Department of Education and the roll-out of free Wi-Fi to communities have made an instant impact on our education system, the mayor pointed out.
He then encouraged those who did not do well not to lose hope but rather pick up the pieces and give it another try. “Remember that it is not about how many times you fall, but rather how many times you are able to stand up after every fall.”
Meanwhile, Gungubele has announced that the metro will forever look at increasing the bursary fund to accommodate more young people going into the future.
“As a municipality we firmly believe that ‘a community that does not take care of its youth is doomed’, especially in a city that has 65 per cent of its population as young people. In this regard the City has increased the number of beneficiaries of the Ekurhuleni Metro community bursary scheme. Last year our intake was 464 taking the total number in 2015 to 810 at a cost of R13,8-million,” he pointed out.
