With just 70 days left before grade 12 pupils write their matric exams, Free State education MEC Tate Makgoe has highlighted the importance of psychosocial support services to gear children up for the examinations.
“Over and above the normal tuition support … motivational sessions are conducted jointly with selected and inspirational young people to instil the love of education and taking responsibility for their educational journey,” he told Sunday World.
“Currently, the districts and the province are focusing on the review of the June results to develop support packages for struggling schools and underperforming subjects … the support takes the form of school visits to support underperforming schools in identified subjects, and extra academic support classes for learners by experts in identified subjects,” he said.
Last year, four of the five education districts were in the top 10 best-performing districts in the country.
“All our districts since 2016 to date achieved above 80% NSC [national senior certificate] pass rate,” he said, adding that it gives him pride that during his tenure, the province has “produced black children that attained 100% pass in mathematics and physical sciences”.
The Free State has achieved the highest pass rate in the country since 2019. When Makgoe took over in 2009, the matric pass rate was 69.4%. Last year, it stood at 82,8%.
Asked the secret behind the Free State’s success, he said having the right teams – from school, district and head office that understand the vision of government – is paramount.
“We rallied the community of the Free State behind us through the Maths 4 All campaign, with the slogan, ‘Because You Can!’” he added.
“My priority was to make mathematics, physical sciences and accounting accessible to all learners and incentivised the best-performing schools.”
Makgoe said data analytics informs the provinces planning, implementation and monitoring and review systems. “For grade 12s the final plans are ratified after the release of the results,” he said.
“Annually, curriculum officials conduct … workshops with all teachers in January/February to ensure the targets and the purpose for the new academic year are understood,” he said, adding that the province also provides on-site support through school visits and team visits to teachers and pupils to identify challenges and gaps.
But despite the province’s success, a lot more still needs to be done. “Results can still be better especially in maths and physical sciences … though we invest in skills competitions for teachers and learners, there is a lack of skills in trades, and we want to improve on that,” Makgoe said.
“We provide mathematics kits and other resources that support the teaching of the subject … and content workshops for teachers targeting challenging topics. Lead teachers and subject advisers joined by the provincial subject co-ordinators prepare standardised tests/exams for March, June, and September,” he said. “As a province we need to ensure that all teachers and learners are equipped with skills of the 21st century.”
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