The DA in Limpopo welcomes the release of the matric results and congratulates the 110 295 learners who sat for the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams on improving the provincial matric pass rate to 72.1% from the shambolic 66.7% pass rate last year.
In the 2021 exam results, Limpopo had six of the ten worst performing districts in the country. It achieved the lowest matric pass rate of all the provinces and was the only province that failed to reach the 70% pass rate. The 2022 matric results are a 5.3% increase from the previous year’s results.
It is also commendable that Limpopo has a school, Emmanuel Christian, that has managed to produce a 100% pass rate since 2018 and has districts like Mogalakwena, Waterberg, Capricorn South and North, Vhembe West and East, Waterberg 2 and Mopani West that managed to achieve over 70% pass rate this year.
Although Education MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya and her department are patting themselves on the back for Limpopo’s increased pass rate, the province still achieved the lowest matric pass rate of all the provinces. The DA is extremely concerned that a total of 153 360 learners were enrolled in grade 10 in 2020; yet only 110 295 learners wrote NSC exams in 2022 with only 79 493 learners passing the exams. This means that only 51.8% of learners who were grade 10 in 2020 passed the 2022 NSC exams in Limpopo, and 43065 learners dropped out between grade 10 and this year’s exams.
The department’s lethargic approach to learning and teaching in Limpopo has resulted in 78 schools that could not achieve a 40% pass rate. This included 6 schools which achieved a pass rate of between 0 – 19.9 % and 72 schools which achieved 20-39.9% pass rates. These 78 schools are more than 50% of the total poorly performing schools nationally (0-39.9%).
Limpopo also has two schools that have achieved less than a 40 % pass rate since 2018. Underperforming schools usually have a track record of poor performance, and it is the duty of the provincial and national departments to address the systemic problems at these schools. It is also concerning that only 49.9% of the 47 971 learners who took mathematics passed.
Allowing schools to underperform and produce such poor results, while having so many learners drop out will only exacerbate the youth unemployment and poverty crisis Limpopo is already facing. Learners will be deprived of opportunities such as higher education and employment that may improve their lives and that of their families.
From the poor showing in the matric exams, it is clear that Lerule-Ramakhanya and her department:
- Must ensure that the funding model for no fee schools needs to be revisited and an increase in funds is needed to ensure improved performance.
- Urgently address the high number of learners that dropout of school each year
- Need to offer more support to districts in the province and improve monitoring and evaluation of the circuit and district offices throughout the year.
- Offer more support to progressed learners to better prepare them for the exams
- Offer more support, and increased investment in staffing and infrastructure for special schools.
- Increase support for all learners in the gateway subjects, especially the number of learners who write and pass mathematics.
- Ensure suitably qualified educators and address other challenges that contribute to poor exam performance, such as scholar transport, the school nutrition programme and infrastructure issues in our schools.
The DA believes our learners in the province deserve more support and a better quality of education than they are currently getting. We are committed to ensuring that every learner in Limpopo has the opportunity for a bright and successful future.