During a briefing by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), it has been revealed that 233 schools in the province have increased their pass rate since 2017. This includes 63 schools who increased their pass rate by more than 10%, and another 45 who have retained their pass rates this past year. The proactive and responsive planning of WCED for the 2022 academic year resulted in the efficient allocation of mobile classrooms, the approval of additional learner transport routes and the supply of school materials such as PPE and stationery.
NSC 2021 Results
The results of the class of 2021 speak volumes of the dedication by learners, parents, teachers and officials to providing quality education to all learners, despite adversities and uncertainty faced during the pandemic.
The Western Cape and the class of 2021 have achieved much with:
- 73 schools in Quintiles 1-3 and another 18 schools in Quintile 99, who teach learners with disabilities, have improved their pass rates.
- The pass rate of 17 subjects – including the critical subjects such as Physical Science, Mathematics and Life Sciences – improved.
- The subject average of 16 subjects – such as Business Studies, Economics, History and Agricultural Sciences – also increased.
- Once again, the Western Cape has recorded the highest Bachelor pass rate at 45.3% – nearly 9% higher than the national average of 36.4%.
- More than this, the Western Cape has the highest retention rate in the country. This means that more students who enter Grade 10 go on to complete their National Senior Certificate, offering them a better chance of finding employment.
While the number of underperforming schools have decreased from 50 to 42 schools in 2021, the Department and Districts are working alongside schools and assisting in the development of School Improvement Plans to support teachers and learners in those schools.
School Readiness and Learner Transport
I welcome the news that the WCED continues to make strides in placing learners with 160 learners being placed within the last week. Currently, 2 741 Grade 1 and 8 learners are in the process of being placed. Since July 2021, the Department has placed more than 29 000 learners due to the establishment of admission teams in each District who have worked tirelessly to give each child the best opportunity possible. However, we know that the number of unplaced learners will grow as new and late application continue to arrive daily.
Within just 5 days, and despite the continued placement of learners, the department received 634 new and late applications between the 14th and 20th of January 2022. To address this need, and to decrease class sizes, a total of 173 mobile units have been approved by the Department of Transport and Public Works for placement at schools, of which 34 units have already been completed. Another 97 vacant classrooms have been identified and repairs will continue to accommodate more than 4 600 learners.
Furthermore, to prepare for the new academic year, more than 480 000 textbooks have been delivered to schools alongside stationary, workbooks and PPE. In this financial year, we have also seen nearly 61 000 learners transported through the Learner Transport Scheme (LTS) to 463 schools. An additional 11 LTS routes, serving more than 6000 learners, have been approved for January 2022.
The work by the WCED has shown its commitment to delivering quality education to every corner of the Western Cape and its continued planning to accommodate and support learners. The class of 2021 is a testament to this work, and that of teachers and learners in the Western Cape.