With the official release of the 2021 Matric Results having been carried out by the Basic Education Department on Friday, a 0.2% improvement in the pass rate may not have been much. But teachers union NAPTOSA says critics should have a bit of perspective and consider a few factors.
The matric class of 2021 managed to achieve an overall pass rate of 76.4% showing a slight improvement from 2020’s 76.2%.
They were also the 14th cohort to sit for their final exam under the CAPS curriculum, with 82.3% of them being full-time candidates, and 40.2% of them being part-time candidates
There were more than 200 000 Distinctions achieved 177 572 Diploma passes and 103 859 Certificate passes
Executive Director of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA), Basil Manuel says that the outcome of the 2021 NSC matric results is worthy of praise when considering the challenges this cohort had to face.
I think is amazing that we will have had a 0.2% increase. As negligible as that sounds the fact that we have retained, what we had last year does make it noteworthy.
Manuel also points out that the amount of pressure and double efforts teachers contributed should also be taken into consideration, as some of them had to sacrifice their holiday weekends to ensure that learners were prepared for the final exams.
He also credits the amount of support that parents provided to learners while they had to adapt to the difficult circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The teacher's union leader also spoke against the continued implementation of the rotational timetable and has called for a cautious return to normality.
He adds that the rotational learning system has only resulted in double the amount of catch up work that has to be done by teachers and learners throughout the school year.
The amount of catch up work that they have had to do is phenomenal. Now when you look at the 2022 matriculants, you are looking at a cohort that has 50% of Grade 11, 50% of Grade 10, so there are many building blocks missing.
In addition to stating that the rotational system is not sustainable, Manuel has also stated that it may be time to also include vocational matric learners when celebrating matriculants.
