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Statement by Naledi Pandor, MP, Minister of Education, on the release of the 2006 senior certificate examination results, Parliament

28 December 2006

NOT YET WHERE WE WANT TO BE

The senior-certificate candidates of 2006 are to be congratulated on their achievements. To those who have passed, well done, to those who have distinguished themselves by achieving above average outcomes we are proud of you, and to those whose results may not reflect your full abilities we wish to encourage you to continue your efforts to succeed.

To the teachers, school leadership, education officials and all the role players, I wish to extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to the thousands of you who are out there always doing what needs to be done. To the few hundred who do not consistently serve our system with integrity, I hope that my statement today and the results published this morning will serve as a signal for action.

In 2005, I indicated that we had ‘come of age' and that the results of that year were a signal of the future South Africa all of us seek to build. I stressed that educational success requires us as a sector to be a confident, competent, achieving sector.

The results that we bring before you today indicate a growing confidence, a confidence to be tougher, more demanding and ambitious.

They also indicate that we are not yet as competent as we should be at achieving better outcomes. They suggest our confidence is misdirected. More hard, focused and diagnostically accurate work is needed to place us where we want to be.

We want to be at a point where we see higher outcomes, stronger science, mathematics and language passes, and expanded success rates for entry to higher education.

We are not yet at the point where we wish to be.

The statistics of this year's examination provide several positive features but as with last year's results, there are a number of troubling aspects that point to visible weaknesses in our systems and in our ability to support the education sector to succeed. Schools and those who work within them also require careful scrutiny. I trust that all parents with children at school who are watching this programme will give closer attention to the academic quality of their schools and in particular the amount of time spent teaching.

I trust as well that all parents will take a greater and much more active interest in supporting the educational success of their children.

Presenting senior-certificate results is a tough challenge. For any minister, the selection and integration of the related strands has to reflect the truth without being disheartening or overly optimistic. The positive is often erased by the negative in the overall analysis. As with previous years I present the rough with the smooth.

On the positive side we are pleased to report that the matric class of 2006 is the largest matric class in the past five years. A total of 528,525 candidates wrote the exam in 8,124 exam centres. There were 29,731 markers and 1,456 question papers. The administration of the exam was managed very smoothly and the national department and the provincial departments must be congratulated for this.

Many of you will recall that, in 2004, I emphasized the important and objective role of Umalusi, the quality-assuring body. In my view the role of the provincial departments should be to support schools and to ensure quality teaching and adequate resources in schools. There should be no reliance on a standardizing ‘bargaining' process with Umalusi, the quality assurer.

I am pleased, therefore, to report that Umalusi found that the examinations were conducted in line with the relevant policies and regulations. They also found improved quality in the cognitive challenge in all question papers. This refers to papers having a wider range of question types and deeper levels of conceptual complexity.

In my view the objectivity of Umalusi should not simply reside in welcoming more difficult question papers. Umalusi may need to do more to provide insights into how the levels of outcomes can be sustainably raised. I am pleased that the examiners are setting high quality exam papers. I hope Umalusi's report will assist provinces in their efforts to expand quality education.

I am pleased that Umalusi has confirmed the quality and integrity of our examinations.

For the first time matriculants wrote 11 national questions papers. These 11 papers were written by over 90% of the candidates. To a great degree it is performance in these national question papers that provides insights into the quality of the matriculants we send into the workplace and into higher education. For the first time the majority of candidates wrote common national papers, a significant departure from past practice when we had each province setting their own papers, leading to varying levels of quality and cognitive demand.

The results that we announce to-day suggest that the examinations were demanding and that we will have to work harder and smarter if we are to do better in 2007.

Of 528 525 candidates who wrote, 351 503 passed (4 319 more than in 2005). This translates into a national pass rate of 66,6% (a decline of 1,7% from 2005). This outcome must stir each school, district, department, MEC and the Minister to do more. We can and must do better. We know the papers are tougher, they require three hours at the exam desk and writing that is clear and cogent.

The pass rate has not yet begun to reflect the levels of performance that we believe the education sector can reach. I remain convinced that it is possible for us to do better and that we will. There is, however, a need for provincial departments of education and ourselves to probe the outcomes more carefully and to revise and strengthen existing strategies in response.

We know that our intervention strategies can work. The work done with the 114 underperforming schools of 2005 show that success is possible. 99 schools out of the 114 schools improved their performance. 43 achieved above 40% and 7 between 80 to 100 percent.

There is a decline in pass rates in 5 provinces – Free State , KwaZulu Natal, Limpopo , Northern Cape , and Western Cape . Of these three performed above 70 % and had an increase in the number of candidates. Given previous concerns expressed about the holding back of learners as a way of improving results, we are pleased that more learners are being given the opportunity to write the matric exam. However, we urge provinces to ensure that increases are accompanied by the provision of additional teachers, textbooks, and support staff. Four provinces improved their performance ( Eastern Cape , Gauteng , Mpumalanga , and North West ).

The decline in the pass rate in some provinces suggests that access may have been promoted without due attention to the provision of qualitative support to ensure positive senior-certificate outcomes. There is a clear lesson for our departments – we cannot expect schools and teachers to do more with less. In the past three years national budgetary allocations have targeted increases in provincial education budgets – the outcomes we note in this year's examinations suggest that the money assumed nationally for quality improvement at provincial level may not be reaching its intended beneficiary sector.

The provincial results are as follows.

Province: Eastern Cape
2006: 59,3
2005: 56,7

This is a welcome improvement. Still well below average, but an important indicator of determined attention to educational improvement.
 
Province: Free State
2006: 72,2
2005: 77,6

The Free State is to be congratulated on its above average performance. The decline of around 5% is cause for concern.
 
Province: Gauteng
2006: 78,3
2005: 74,9

Gauteng is to be congratulated for the marked improvement over 2005.
 
Province: KZN
2006: 65,7
2005: 70,5

The decline in KZN is possibly linked to the increase in candidate numbers. Nevertheless, we must congratulate the province for increasing opportunities to succeed. I am sure that the province will address the challenges identified through this exam with a determined strategy of improvement.
 
Province: Limpopo
2006: 55,7
2005: 64,9

The decline in Limpopo also comes amid more candidates writing. Given that professional support has been absent in many districts, there is reason for real concern. I am pleased to note that the MEC has begun appointing more teachers and filling hundreds of vacant principal and middle management positions in the province. These actions will bear fruit in 2007.
 
Province: Mpumalanga
2006: 65,3
2005: 58,6

Mpumalanga must be congratulated on having increased the number of candidates and improved their pass rate. The implementation of the learner attainment strategy and the leadership role assumed by the MEC has clearly produced these positive results.
 
Province: North West
2006: 67,0
2005: 63,0

North West has also improved and must be congratulated.
 
Province: Northern Cape

2006: 76,8
2005: 78,9

There is a small decline in the Northern Cape . The province must be congratulated for its sustained achievement above 70%, but given the very small numbers in contrast to other provinces such as KZN and Limpopo we say to Northern Cape we expect 80% in 2007.
 
Province: Western Cape
2006: 83,7
2005: 84,4

The Western Cape maintains its position as the top province. We congratulate them. One of the challenges that we should put to this highly effective province is that there must be an improvement in the number of exemptions.

We can celebrate that 351 503 (347 184 – 2005) passed and that 85 830 (86 531) achieved exemption/endorsement, that 25 217 passed HG Mathematics, and 29 781 passed HG Physical Science.

Each of these statistics indicates a decline compared to the levels achieved in 2005. There may be speculation that this is a reflection of the high “cognitive demand” of the national question papers as reported by Umalusi.

However, it is important to stress that high “cognitive demand” cannot be cited as a reason for not succeeding. Rather, our provincial education departments should intensify efforts at providing relevant, effective and consistent support to schools to ensure positive outcomes for all candidates. There is no virtue in acclaiming difficult question papers if we do not ensure quality resources and quality teaching.

Having said that, I must emphasise that there will be no retreat to poor quality exam papers in an effort to enhance the pass rate – we are going to have to work hard if we intend to succeed.

Our congratulations go to the Western Cape , Gauteng , the Northern Cape and Free State for showing that it is possible to achieve a pass rate above 70%. Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape also show welcome progress. Much more needs to been done in every province to raise the bar higher.

Several schools in the provinces with the largest numbers of learners have provided positive outcomes. For example, there were more matriculants with exemptions in Gauteng , Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal than in the Western Cape , the top-performing province. Nevertheless, concern must be expressed at the large number of Limpopo candidates who register for higher grade subject streams and fail to perform due to low levels of investment in teachers, in infrastructure and in general professional support.

A defining feature of the provinces that performed above average is the ability of district offices to provide support. Evidence shows wide variation in district size and function in our system. This has to change in order for schools to receive better support. Districts do not have the same number of schools. For example, the Namakwa district in the Northern Cape has 20 secondary schools, while the Capricorn district in the Limpopo province has 362 secondary schools. Schools also vary in size with very small numbers in some and large numbers and classes in others. All these features of our system require direct attention if we are to achieve significantly improved outcomes.

In the next few months we shall carry out a careful school-by-school assessment of achievement in matric 2006. This will be done to determine support that should be provided and whether all candidate schools should continue to offer senior certificate candidates.

The subject results show some positive signs. We continue to see passes in physical science higher grade above 26 000. The drop to 29 781 from 29 965 in 2005 is cause for concern. 81 151 candidates passed standard grade physical science compared to 73 167 in 2005. The practice of directing learners to SG options continues in many schools, despite our resolve to expand success in HG subjects, especially maths and science. These statistics are replicated in the Maths outcomes 25, 217 HG passes compared to 26, 383 (2005) and 110 452 SG passes compared to 112 279 (2005). We will have to pay much closer attention to performance in these subjects if we are to achieve the objectives we set in 2004.

The impact of the differentiated SG and HG on our success levels confirms that the implementation of the national curriculum in all grades will support the development of a more coherent, rational and co-ordinated system of education in South Africa .

Our review of Dinaledi schools during periodic visits suggests we do not stringently focus on our agreed priorities and that reliance on provincial monitoring and support for nationally agreed outcomes may not get us the results South Africa desires. Provinces are the key to unlocking success, they control resources and resource allocation. They can and should influence the nature and levels of success we achieve.

National is responsible for policy development, monitoring and support to ensure we achieve desired outcomes.

There are other influences on these results that we plan to address in 2007. One of these is the fact that the exam time-table tends to disrupt the entire system. Consideration will be given to a later start to the exams. We cannot continue the negative impact on education of almost four months of no schooling. Greater attention will need to be paid to the practice of closing schools in September/October to “accommodate” matric study time. Too much learning time is lost to this practice. Reports of the syllabus being “completed” in May are also extremely worrying. It is clear from the results that candidates did not complete the syllabus, had inadequate exam writing skills and found the papers far more challenging than their school-based preparation. Harder work is necessary from all of us. What these results do show is that we can do it.

Analysing the matric outcomes in December is, as Professor Mary Metcalfe has repeatedly said, a poor means of analysing our system. One point in a year cannot be used to assess the whole system of schooling. Better tools have to be found. In this regard I repeat my advice to provinces in February 2006 – we need to determine focused strategies to improve learning outcomes. These strategies must be targeted at reducing further declines in the overall matric results. While the attention may focus on high schools, under performance at all levels of schooling should be addressed. As indicated then the key implementing agent should be the district office and every school should be monitored, supported and evaluated.

Reports from the national monitoring team in August this year showed that not all provinces had acted. Those that did act have shown the improvements that we record today.

Professor Metcalfe and others have called for an end to the hype attached to matriculation exam announcements. I agree with them. In 2007 we will arrange greater access to MECs to elaborate on their results. The national department will continue to play a supportive role in releasing the results primarily by publication in the press from 2008. It is time we aligned ourselves with international practice, and allow for the results statement to be based on published school achievements and the conclusions of the quality assuring body. I will, of course, continue to play a key role in support, administration and analysis. This will hopefully lead to less hype and better quality outcomes.

I believe that the policy improvements begun in 2005 will lead to sustained levels of improvement in the future. Confounding our legacy is a long and winding road. The no-fee schools policy will place more resources in schools, the teacher development framework will improve the professional competence of our educators, and the literacy and numeracy strategy will enhance core cognitive skills for all our learners while the focused maths-and-science-schools strategy will expand success rates in these key subjects.

In conclusion, I would like to repeat my congratulations to the successful candidates of the class of 2006. My thanks to the Director-General (Duncan Hindle) and to the Deputy Director-General (Penny Vinjevold) and all the officials in Branch F who have done so much to ensure we arrive at this point. My thanks to them all for sacrificing their holidays to ensure the results are published before the year-end.

Thanks to the media and other guests for ensuring the widest publication of the results and for the support given to matriculants in the run up to the exams. Special thanks to the SABC for granting us this time on the public broadcaster.

Sincere thanks to provincial colleagues the MECs and their officials and all stakeholders in education.

My special thanks to educators - many of you work under extremely challenging conditions and some achieve miracles. You are the real stars; our success depends on your effort and our partnership.

Happy 2007 to you all. Phambili ngemfundo. To parents, support us, support your children, support our schools, support the creation of a highly successful South Africa.
 
(For tables please see http://www.education.gov.za/dynamic/dynamic.aspx?pageid=306&id=2468)

Issued by: Department of Education
28 December 2006