7th January 2010

The IFP-aligned South Africa Democratic Students' Movement (SADESMO) welcomes with grave concern the results of the 2009 Matric/Grade 12 released earlier today. 

SADESMO wishes to congratulate all those who have passed Grade 12. 

However, this is not the end of the road because education is a lifelong process and we encourage every single matriculant to continue learning irrespective of their results. We hope that those who have not fared well will take advantage of the re-writing opportunity due in March and improve their results. 

SADESMO is extremely concerned with the fact that the national pass rate has yet again taken a nosedive, even after the marks were adjusted. A 60,7% pass rate is certainly not impressive and speaks volumes about the quality of our education system in its entirety. It is our most urgent expectation that the Department of Basic Education will put in place comprehensive corrective measures to rescue education in South Africa. 

The blanket general decline in results is indicative of poor and non-effective operational functionality in the department. Moreover, it suggests that teachers are still ill equipped to fully and effectively meet even the basic requirements of the system; and at times this is no fault of their own, the priorities of government when it comes to education are largely misplaced. Schools throughout the country remain under resourced, much to the expense of the learner. 

Serious interventions are needed and SADESMO is readily committed to work with the department of Basic Education to remedy the situation. 

Noting that the number of University entrances has somewhat increased, we expect the Department of Higher Education to ensure smooth registration and accessibility to institutions of Higher Learning. We expect the Minister of Higher Education to pronounce on the state of readiness of admitting new students, and the availability of space and infrastructural resources, particularly residences. 

SADESMO remains concerned at the state of affairs in Mpumalanga, which has fared very poorly out of the nine provinces, and equally the 11% decline in the Northern Cape is depressing. 

SADESMO is firmly of the view that the medium of instruction should be the mother tongue so as to ensure that learners are not disadvantaged. 

In conclusion, SADESMO congratulates all learners who have passed and encourages all those who have not done well to not despair and try again. We salute all teachers for their hard work and we are most grateful to parents and guardians, particularly those who are living in poverty and are at the periphery of social standings, for ensuring that their children access education. We hope that the results of 2010 will be much more favourable. 

Education is a RIGHT, not a privilege!
 

Issued for SADESMO by:
Mkhuleko "Leko" Hlengwa
SADESMO National Spokesperson
083 871 2711/ 0731667 904