Tuesday, 14 January 2025: The South African Communist Party (SACP) in the Free State Province (FS) salutes the Matric Class of 2024 for achieving the highest ever pass rate of 87.3 per cent in the country. We congratulate this excellent performance which reflects improved pass rate and increased number of distinctions in all provinces, wherein no province obtained less than 84 per cent pass rate. This common and shared improvement across the board with all provinces is commendable and reflects maturity in the system. In particular, the Party in the province is impressed by the consistent year-on-year best performance by the Free State province, having obtained a 91 per cent pass rate, the highest in the country.
As the SACP in the province, we are particularly satisfied with the overall performance and perseverance of learners from schools in quintile 1 to 3, which are schools in working class communities, often with inadequate resources and material allocation needed for effective teaching and learning. These schools produced 67 per cent of all bachelor passes in the country, reflecting hunger for excellence amongst the learners. The Party calls on government and all private entities to deliberately trace and ensure that the dreams of these hard working learners do not perish on account of lack of funding to access higher education entrance to further their studies.
In the Free State province, the Districts of Fezile Dabi, Mangaung, Xhariep and Thabo Mofutsanyana obtained over 90 per cent pass rate, with Lejweleputsa being 2.5 per cent shy of 90 per cent. Additionally, an impressive total of 89.6 per cent of all schools in the province obtained a pass rate of between 80 and 100 per cent.
Whereas this reflects overall functionality of the education system in the province, the SACP urges all relevant stakeholders, led by the Department of Education, to pay particular attention towards improving the quality of the passes, increase enrollment in gateway subjects such as mathematics, physical sciences and ground breaking technology development subjects as well as improving the retention rate of learners.
The SACP in Free State applauds and appreciates the collective efforts of all stakeholders, inclusive of political leadership, administrative and departmental staff as well as civil society champions and trade unions who played a role in the success of the class of 2024, and urges renewed and intensified efforts with the class of 2025.
Whilst celebrating these achievements, the Party in the province, however, cautions that we should not lose sight of the persisting class and social inequalities that continue to play themselves in the education system.
For instance, of the 14 schools in the Free State that repeatedly obtained 100 per cent pass rate from 2020 to 2024, only two schools have above 100 grade 12 learners, whereas the remaining 12 schools all have less than 50 Grade 12 learners influencing the teacher-to-learner ratio. Moreover, out of all these 14 schools, only three schools are in quintile 1 representing poorer communities whereas the majority are in quintile 5 representing largely wealthy communities, mostly attended by white learners.
Therefore, the social category of the school, race and class stratification, teacher-to-learner ratio, as well as infrastructural disparities, still play a role in influencing the quality and nature of the outcomes. These are elements the Department of Education must confront and resolve. Nonetheless, it does not follow that excellence is only producible in quintile 4 and 5 schools. On the contrary, out of 13 schools with over 100 matric learners, eight schools are in quintile 1-3 but obtained an excellent 100 per cent pass. This demonstrates that with additional resources, material support and schooling infrastructure rollout to quintile 1 to 3, the disparities and inequalities in the education system can be narrowed promptly.
The SACP in the province is, however, gravely concerned by the austerity measures imposed on the education system by the National Treasury-led budget cuts. These austerity measures, imposed by a bureaucratic neoliberal clique largely in the national treasury, and now securely and politically insulated by the consolidation of neoliberal forces in the so called GNU, must be rejected.
These budget cuts threaten to reverse the gains and successes in the education and other sectors at a time when additional teacher jobs (not job cuts), additional infrastructure and teaching materials, additional administration and support staff, additional food nutrition and scholar transport are gravely required to enhance access and inclusivity, redress and equity as well as quality and efficiency in education. The SACP calls for progressive forces to join a front to fight and guard against these reversals and neoliberal onslaught, including any possible revisionism through regulations by the DA Minister in the GNU against the required implementation of the BELA Act in its totality.
As the Party, we encourage those who did not make it to pursue many available options to pursue other alternatives to further develop themselves in education and training.
ISSUED BY THE SACP FREE STATE PROVINCE
Contact:
Bheke Stofile – SACP Free State Provincial Secretary
Mobile: 071 600 4899
Phillip Kganyago – SACP Free State Provincial Spokesperson
Mobile: 071 896 0157
Issued by the South African Communist Party,
Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa.
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