Press Statement dated 4 January 2019
The South African Federation of Trade Union take serious note on the recent announcement of “Matric results” by the Minister of Basic Education. We further took note of the circumstances under which such results has been obtained.
While we acknowledge the efforts made by all learners we equally wish to congratulate learners from Grade-1 to Grade-12 those who have managed to be at school for the entire period of 2018. We do so noting that many of the learners from all grades could not finish their year of study for various reasons hence called drop outs with less attention given to them by the government and nothing is said by the minister nor a plan to rectify such is provided.
We exclusively congratulate 400 500 learners who form class of 2018 who made it through during this exams opening their way to various institution of higher learning and TVET colleges. We are also aware that not all of them will be accepted in various institution for reasons know to the government.
Credit must also go our educators and parents who worked tireless under difficultly environment that exist in our public schools such as high shortage of educators, overcrowding, lack of resource and poor infrastructure, high cost of living, high fuel price and transport that is/was experienced during 2018 and within our public schools. We therefore says the government must take full responsibility for almost half of the matriculants who couldn’t make it noting the number of those who registered for exams and those who couldn’t make it.
In South Africans there has been a continuous drop in terms of matric who enrolled and register for grade-12. In 2017 alone about 835 289 registered with 798 289 in 2018. Therefore the so called increased of performance is misleading.
As SAFTU-KZN we believe that the truth must be told and government exposed around the matric results which has been made a hullabaloo and celebration of mediocrity when our country education system both in content and quality is non-existence, lacks skills, relevance and add no value into the country’s economic stream.
South African education system is rated the worst in the world and rated number 75th out of 76 in ranking table of education system by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). SA results are worse than those of the poorest countries in Africa. This characterised by 27% of south African people who have attended school for more than six(06) who cannot read, this focus on only matric results vs all the grades by SA government represented by its ministers since 1994.
Our country has been made to believe that matric results will or do bring change in both the life of the countries youth and the country’s economy. This is just a lie and fallacy which our country continue to experience for the past 24 years. The youth of the country continue to lacks basic skills after 12 years of their basic education hence SAFTU has continuously called for serious transformation of education system of SA.
Our view is that numbers or statistics cannot or must not be used to measure success of both our education but content and quality characterised by real skills and meaningful participation on the economic stream by youth must be a determining factor. Quality and proper infrastructure of our public schools must be at the centre of childhood development of our education, without these our education system will continue to be a joke and represent the apartheid education system structure.
As SAFTU KZN we also mindful of the challenges the class of 2018 will face in terms of access to higher learning, noting number of issues around NESFAS, Shortage of Universities, Colleges, Accommodation and number of issues faced our education system both higher and basic.
We therefore call on the entire working class reject this educational statistics which lacks any plan, vision and political will in transforming South African education in both its content and quality and demand :-
- One single education system that will ensure development of skills, equality and accessible to all South Africans.
- Provision of proper and dignified infrastructure for all public schools.
- Schools to be provided with enough tools of trade not limited to employment of educators and filling of vacant post that exist within department of education.
- Proper ration to address school overcrowding and corruption that exist within the public schools.
Till such time the current government take the lives and education of our children serious not to that of statistics not informed by the output the current system produce to our nation SAFTU KZN will not celebrate and embrace talk shows and grand standing with no real change in the life of the African child.
Issued by South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Leadership