Service delivery protests affected N West matric results, says MEC Lehari

North West Education MEC Sello Lehari is satisfied but not happy with the province’s matric results, he said on Friday.

“The service delivery in protests had a direct bearing or influence on our matric results, hence a ripple effect of our learners performing not according to our target. I am satisfied about the results but not happy, satisfied in a sense that we cannot change them, but we tried our best … I believe that even in life, when you do not get what you are looking for, you should not despair, but remain focused until you achieved what you want,” he said upon the release of the provincial matric results in Wolmaransstad.

He said most learners lost classroom time which led to delays in the curriculum.

The North West matric results slid by 3,4 percent, from 85,5 percent in 2016 to 82.1 in 2017.

Despite the drop, Lehari said the province had been consisted for the past four years.

“We pride ourselves as the province about the performance of our learners which has been consisted for the past three consecutive years, dating back from 2014. We obtained position two in 2014, position four in 2015, position four in 2016,” he said.

SA Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) provincial chairperson Mxolisi Bomvana also called on communities not to target schools during service delivery protests.

He said communities had no business to torch schools or clinics when they demanded water or roads.

The top performing learner in North West was Marie-Tinka Olivier of Rustenburg High School.

She wrote seven subjects, obtained a total of 1 703 marks at an average of 94,61 percent. She obtained in the 90s in all her subjects, with the lowest at 92 percent.

The best performing district was Bojanala.

– African News Agency (ANA)

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