Editorial: First task must be to fix department

THERE is no other way to view the Eastern Cape’s 2015 matric results than utterly dismal and bleak. What started out as a year full of promise, with provincial education bosses giving the assurance that all would be done to improve on the previous year’s 65.4% pass rate, ended in massive disappointment and questions over why it all went so wrong. Yet again. The 56.8% pass rate recorded is the lowest in six years and while there are a myriad causes being cited for the huge drop of 8.6 percentage points, it is abundantly clear something radical needs to happen – and fast. For one thing, this figure was drastically affected by the large number of progressed pupils who were pushed through to matric despite having failed Grade 11 multiple times. It should come as no surprise that only a fraction of them passed – it boggles the mind as to how a pupil who was unable to pass the penultimate test of his or her schooling career should be expected to negotiate Grade 12 successfully.

This scenario demands rapid interventions to identify methods of addressing obstacles which are highly likely to be specific to individual schools, with no one-size-fits-all solution. The urgent need for maths and science to be taught in home languages, the filling of hundreds of teacher posts and far greater emphasis on strengthening foundation phase education must also be prioritised. The pattern emerging nationally of provinces with large numbers of rural schools performing poorly is also a crystal clear indication these institutions are getting short-changed when it comes to resources. But Bhisho has known this for a long time – it is an issue which requires immediate rectification. All of which brings us to the rickety state of our provincial Department of Education. There can be absolutely no progress in turning the province’s fortunes around if the boiler room is in any way disabled by mismanagement and incompetence. Tackling this must surely be number one on the “to do” list of any emergency strategy.