With the start of the academic year, MEC for KZN COGTA Nomusa Dube-Ncube, pleaded with municipalities to engage with parents in an imbizo if they wanted to achieve a 100% pass rate this year.
Dube-Ncube said it was concerning that certain schools were seen to have regressed in the recent matric results.
"We must not only point fingers at teachers. We also need to ask difficult questions of parents. What role are they playing to ensure that their children get the best education?
“I have observed learners arriving late. If you are a parent, what are you doing to ensure your child arrives early at school? Why are they (parents) not attending meetings? Government and teachers need their support.
“We have numerous incidents where schools are vandalised while the community is watching. In other schools children, during school hours, are loitering in the streets and the community does nothing. This is not on,” said Dube-Ncube.
The MEC said despite the province obtaining a 72.8% pass rate in the NSC exams, an improvement from 2016, the province needed to do better.
“We are not going to be complacent and we want parents at the cockpit of their children’s education.”
Speaking in Umlazi, Dube-Ncube said there was nothing stopping eThekwini from excelling every academic year considering the infrastructure at its disposal.
"There are schools that are in the deepest rural areas but through hard work they are doing exceptionally well despite being under-resourced. Teachers must refrain from fighting for positions and teach - that is what they are paid for. Some are preoccupied about trade union work at the expense of our children. We have got schools that are regressing yet which are very resourced. This can’t be right."
She urged parents to make an effort to get involved in their children’s education and the day-to-day commute to school and back.