The evidence is everywhere for all to see. Take a drive along any part of this magnificent province, especially through rural towns and villages on a Saturday morning. You’d see them.
Teenagers in their full school uniforms, on the day they are supposed to be relaxing at home with their families, heading for the classroom. Some would be wearing those school jackets that set them apart as matric pupils. Their equally dedicated teachers would already be waiting for them in the class, voluntarily taking on the extra day of work so that the province’s children can secure their futures while, at the same time, making us proud as the province.
This is the story we need to remember as we celebrate yet another year of improved matric results for the Eastern Cape. For too many years, we were on the wrong end of the list when it came to the ranking of the provinces by performance in the matric results. Many of the factors that had caused that still exist today, especially in historically disadvantaged parts of the province.
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Despite concerted efforts, there is still a shortage of schools and the infrastructure continues to be under pressure from such natural disasters as floods. Yet the determination of our pupils, their teachers and parents to succeed, helped by the provincial education department and other stakeholders, is helping the Eastern Cape rewrite its own story. Last year we had the best results since 1994, with 84.9% of the pupils who sat for the exams matriculating.
This year we look to reach the 88% mark. This is impressive progress and praise should go to all involved. Through such department initiatives as the “Know Your Learner” tracking model, we should continue to study closely why we are succeeding where other provinces with a similar profile to ours are not.
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