The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) congratulates all successful matriculants on their achievements, and encourages those whose exam numbers will not appear in Tuesday’s newspaper not to lose heart and rewrite the subjects which they did not pass.
There are three examination authorities that examine the National Senior Certificate in South Africa. They are the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE). While nearly 18 000 candidates wrote the IEB exams and just over 6 000 wrote SACAI’s, more than 900 000 matrics wrote the departmental examination.
The IEB achieved a pass rate of 98,3%, with 89,3% of candidates obtaining university admission. The Department achieved a pass rate of 88%, of whom 46% obtained university admission.
More importantly, all districts in the country achieved a pass rate of 80% or higher. SACAI, which mainly serves educational institutions offering distance learning, achieved a pass rate of 73%.
In her announcement of the departmental results, the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, emphasised a holistic approach to education, which includes extensive mother-tongue instruction and relieving teachers’ administrative burden.
The Freedom Front Plus endorses this approach, which treats matric results as the culmination of a formative process rather than an isolated target.
For most South Africans, the National Senior Certificate – or matric, as it is commonly known – is the foundation on which they build a career. The tragic truth is, however, that candidates may have successfully completed matric, but that does not guarantee that they will be successful in finding a job. This points to an unacceptable gap between the worlds inside and outside the school grounds.
This does not mean matric is unimportant. In fact, it proves that the learner has the perseverance needed to achieve success in the future. It is, therefore, also encouraging that the throughput rate (the proportion of learners who progress from Grade 1 to matric) has increased to 84%.
The Freedom Front Plus wants to encourage employers to give young people the opportunity to prove themselves.
The party remains critical of government using education as a tool to promote the prevailing state ideology. In addition, the Freedom Front Plus expects that independent education will keep growing as there is an intentional attempt to escape government’s hold on education. Nevertheless, results day is a time to rejoice with successful matriculants and encourage those who did not succeed.
The Freedom Front Plus wishes the matric class of 2025 only the best.
