IFP congratulates successful matriculants

December 27, 2006

 The National Chairperson of the IFP, Ms. Zanele Magwaza, today congratulated successful matriculants and encouraged those who were unable to meet the exam requirements.

Ms Magwaza further noted the negative trend in matric results in the province of KwaZulu-natal since 2004.

Ms Magwaza said:

"Many congratulations to all who have passed their matric exams. On behalf of the IFP I wish you further success in your personal life choices.  Whatever your path we hope that it will involve further education and a commitment to life in South Africa."

"We are also aware of the many who have passed matric in spite of the very difficult circumstances you face. Many parents, for example, are unemployed making conditions for school attendance very challenging. Some matriculants come from child-headed households and in many instances they themselves are the heads of the household. Triumph in the face of these extremely difficulty circumstances is highly applauded by the IFP. Well done, we are extremely proud of you and wish you well in all your future endeavours."

"We sympathise with those who did not meet the matric exam requirements.  This is not the end of the world and we encourage you to keep trying. We realise that learners do not fail because they want to fail but rather because we have failed them by not improving conditions in schools and their environment."

"In light of Government's decision not to allow matriculants back to school after they have failed, the IFP challenges Government to ensure that each high school has all supplies (text books and stationery) in place - on time and has fully qualified teachers. If Government cannot meet this minimum requirement for good education it will have to have a change of mind about not allowing matricltants back to rewrite their exams. It is totally unacceptable to expect learners to pass matric when some of them STILL have NOT received their textbooks!"

"The conditions at Model C schools are often much better than those of other government schools. It appears that textbooks and stationery arrive more timeously and that they are able to attract better-qualified teachers. The IFP calls for normal government schools to be upgraded to the level of Model C schools."

"Satisfied teachers are fundamental to success at schools. The IFP believes that the employment conditions of teachers, including remuneration and personal security needs to be urgently prioritised."

"2007 should be in year in which government begins to sharpen its focus on rural schools by providing incentives for qualified teachers, especially in the field of maths and science, to encourage them relocate to rural schools."

"Education is the most powerful tool for change in society. There should be no goal higher than this. Consequently the IFP calls on Government to increase its education budget to defray from the pending increase in tertiary education fees."

In conclusion Ms Magwaza said:

"The IFP notes with concern that since the ANC has taken over the Education Portfolio in KwaZulu-Natal there has been a negative trend in the matric results. In light of this the IFP calls for an urgent symposium to investigate the results, in order to arrest this negative trend. We need to know what is going wrong. Is it because textbooks are not being delivered on time? Is it because there are not enough qualified teachers? These are just some of the questions which need answering. A symposium, which allows, learners, parents, teachers and all relevant stake holders as well as all members of the public to participate in a process aimed at reversing this negative trend is vital."


Contact:
Ms VZ Magwaza
IFP National Chairperson
082 804 7993