Sadtu, Naptosa caution against ‘the hype’ around matric results

Teacher unions, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) and the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) have congratulated the matric class of 2022 for their performance in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.

However, Sadtu and Naptosa cautioned against the hype and competition between provinces over the NSC results.

2022 matric results

The class of 2022 attained a pass rate of 80.1%, which represents an improvement of 3.7% attained by the class of 2021.

Class of 2022: Get your matric results here

The Free State was the leading province again this year with a pass rate of 88.5%, an increase of 2.8% from 2021.

Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal contributed the most number of Bachelor passes, though all provinces improved.

Sadtu said it was of the firm view that the grade 12 results should not be used as the sole or even main yardstick to assess the performance of the country’s education system.

ALSO READ: Matric class of 2022 records pass rate of 80.1%

The union said it was the league tables among provinces and called for education relief funds to deal with challenges like overcrowding at schools instead of austerity measures.

“As we rejoice in the continued positive trajectory of the Matric pass rate, we believe that more should be done to ensure equality and quality within the system. This approach should be anchored by increased government investment into education infrastructure and the sector in its entirety.

“Business should also increase their investment in education and government should consider imposing Wealth Tax to assist in improving the quality of education more especially for the poor,” Sadtu said in a statement.

Hype around matric results

Naptosa’s executive director, Basil Manuel, cautioned the Department of Basic Education against the matric hype and provincial league tables.

“The 2022 NSC was marred by incidents of dishonesty. What Naptosa find most disconcerting is the increased role of educators in these acts of dishonesty.

“Naptosa cautions the department against the matric hype and provincial league tables. This is encouraging undesirable, desperate, and dishonest acts,” said Manuel in a statement.  

Manuel also urged all in the education sector to work towards eliminating the inequalities highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic, load shedding and the impact of climate change during the 2023 academic year.

“Lessons learnt during the 2020-2022 period, must serve to improve schooling in 2023 and beyond. It is imperative that more attention is paid to the health and safety of teachers and learners; including their mental health.

“The crumbling school infrastructure and overcrowded classes can no longer be the order of the day; more practical implementation and less lip service of service delivery must become the norm. If these are in place, quality teaching and learning will prevail during school time.”

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