DA wants focus on drop-out learners, queries Mpumalanga’s pass rate

Ms Jane Sithole, spokesman of the DA on education in Mpumlanga, congratulated all of Mpumalanga’s successful matriculants on 8 January for their improved performance in the 2019 academic year.

According to a press release, they faced many challenges such as load-shedding, lack of sanitation, strikes and burning of schools.

The class of 2019 got an overall pass rate of 80.3%, an improvement of 1.3 % from the 79% it received in the 2018 academic year.

Ms Sithole however, cautioned that Mpumalanga’s real pass rate stands at 37%, taking into consideration that in 2017 the province had 94 103 learners in Grade 10 and only 34 995 of those passed the 2019 matric examination.

“What happened to the other 59 108?” she asked.

She explained that these 59 108 young uneducated people will be entering the competitive job market this year.

“The ANC-government has failed these young people, many of whom will and are languishing at home and on the streets.

“The slow poison of drop-out rates between Grades 10 and 12 is eating away at the future of the youth of this country.

“The Mpumalanga Department of Education must also focus on improving learner retention and ensure that learners are supported from the time they begin school to when they complete Grade 12.”

The DA also urged those who did not obtain the required results not to despair, but to make the most of the supplementary exam opportunities.

“We also hope that all successful matriculants will enroll in the country’s various tertiary institutions to ensure a brighter future for themselves, their families, and the country at large,” she concluded.