Cape Town - An Mfuleni principal is so happy with the matric results his pupils achieved that he is going to use R2 000 of his own cash to throw a celebratory braai for them.
John Matiso, the principal of Manzomthombo High, was over the moon when collecting his school’s results at the the Metro East Education district office in Kuils River early on Tuesday.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Matiso after learning that the pass rate at his school had increased from 78.9 percent to 91.4 percent.
Matiso said he was very proud of the fact that half of the matriculants had earned university passes while the school also achieved a 100 percent pass rate in eight subjects. “I’m going to take R2 000 out of my own pocket and have a braai for the learners to celebrate.”
He said there was “no such thing as holidays at the school”.
Weekend classes started in February and pupils and teachers were at school during the holidays. Parents were also called in when pupils didn’t do homework or assignments.
Other schools which showed significant improvement included Siphamandla Secondary, which had the highest percentage pass rate in Khayelitsha and achieved 92.4 percent, up from 76.2 percent in 2013, and Walmer Secondary, which went from 50.9 percent in 2013 to 88.2 percent.
Walmer Secondary principal Raymond Jansen was overjoyed after the school increased its pass rate so radically.
“Last year I almost had a heart attack when we were classified as underperforming. I was despondent.”
But after some reflection, the school went back to the drawing board and brought in tutors and increased parental involvement.
It achieved a 100 percent pass rate in six subjects.
Meanwhile, the provincial education department will take a “very serious look” at the leadership of schools that repeatedly underperformed, Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said while visiting the Metro East Education district office in Kuils River on Tuesday.
The number of underperforming schools in the province has increased from 23 in 2013 to 31 last year, and 10 of these schools were repeat underperformers.
Schools are classified as underperforming if they obtain a pass rate of below 60 percent.
“Let’s just say the keyword is going to be accountability,” Schäfer said.
However, the Kuils River district has increased its pass rate by 15.1 percentage points since 2009 to to 81.2 percent.
Almost half of the schools in the district were in Khayelitsha.
“This year, we again saw an increase in the percentage pass rate in Khayelitsha schools, with Khayelitsha schools achieving an average pass rate of 76.1 percent in the 2014 NSC. This is in stark contrast to the 53.6 percent that was achieved in 2009 when the DA first came into government in this province.”
In 2009, 15 Khayelitsha schools were classified as underperforming. This time there was only one.
Cape Argus