When Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced the 2017 matric results on January 4, most South Africans expected the Eastern Cape to occupy its rightful position — last out of the nine provinces. Like a recurring episode in a horror movie, education MEC Mandla Makupula and his team gave the usual performance. But in 2018, there was a twist in the tale, an incredible 5.7 percentage point improvement from a 59.3% pass rate in 2016 to 65% in 2017. Of course, we should celebrate any improvements in the performance of Eastern Cape learners, but the key question for the system and the province is what happens to pupils from poor-performing schools in Bizana, Mt Ayliff, Matatiele, Kwelera, Fort Beaufort and Zwelitsha who are continually failed by the system and left to stare poverty and unemployment in the face. What happens to those who didn’t get to matric because teachers failed them in Grade 11 by ensuring that only the best pupils get to Grade 12? What happens to those who a...
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