Pretoria - The Department of Basic Education has addressed concerns about the credibility of matric results by giving its unequivocal assurance that the 67.8 percent pass rate was a true reflection of learners' achievements.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the department had an obligation to the country to ensure that examination processes were conducted fairly and without any interference and that "this applied to the Class of 2010".
She said the department had consistently worked hard to ensure the integrity, credibility and legitimacy of the exams.
"For us, examinations are high stakes. They draw attention from all quarters of society, hence the value and credibility we place on exams. We can confidently say the results we are publishing today are a true reflection of learner achievement," said the minister during a press briefing.
Her words were echoed by her deputy, Enver Surty. "We were always conscious of the extended vacation [for the FIFA World Cup] and had a plan set in motion. By mid-year, schools had completed the syllabus. The One Goal Campaign and emphasis on education by the President, including partnerships with the private (sector) also helped," explained Surty.
He credited the 7.2 percent improvement in results (from the previous year's 60.6 percent) to exceptionally hardworking teachers and the programme put in place by the department to ensure that work was being done while the World Cup was on.
Surty also noted that focusing on content knowledge, the importance of textbooks and doing away with portfolios, as recommended by a task team in 2009, also contributed to the results.
"Our dividends have paid out. We've worked very hard with the Department of Science and Technology and will continue to do so. After the teachers' strike, there was peace and stability in the education environment. This indicates the maturity in the education system," said the deputy minister.
He, however, warned that sustaining the results and doing even better remained a challenge. Surty stressed the need to ensure that the foundation for good results was correctly laid throughout the schooling system.
