YCLSA Press Statement January 3, 2013
YCLSA congratulates the class of 2012 The Young Communist League of South Africa [ uFasimba] congratulates the class of 2012, their families, teachers, principals and the Department of Basic Education on the admirable matric results achieved. The 3% increase to a 73.9% pass rate signifies that while education in South Africa has many challenges, it continues to improve steadily. The improvement in gateway subjects with a 54% pass in Mathematics and 61, 3% pass in Physical Science are encouraging signs. In 2011 just 104 033 matrics passed maths. In 2012, the number has improved to 121 970. However the 26.6% bachelor pass shows that not enough students are able to access institutions of higher learning, which must be addressed through various measures. We note with concern that while 8 provinces improved their pass rates, the Western Cape reported a marginal drop from 2011. All provinces should be aiming towards the goal of universal access to quality education. We congratulate Gauteng MEC Cde Barbara Creecy for her sterling efforts in achieving an 83.9% pass rate. The provinces which made headlines this year- Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo for issues with education all improved their pass rates for 2011. This improvement shows that the media does not always represent the reality on the ground accurately. We will continue monitoring the situation in these provinces and working with the relevant structures to improve the basic human right of education. The YCL has repeatedly called for matric results not to be published in the media. We will continue making this call and urging the Department of Basic Education to consider the high suicide rate and depression when marks are published in the media. The green paper on higher education has the full support of the YCL. The paper calls for a shift in attention from universities to Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and for them to become the institutions of choice for school-leavers. These will capacitate work places directly with the skills that are needed as well as offering increased choices to school leavers. Finally, we would like to encourage the class of 2012 to explore all the options open to them for 2013 and beyond. Various options such as NSFAS loans, SETA’s, bursaries and FET colleges exist to give opportunities to students. Equal opportunity for a high quality education for all students is one of the key factors behind the Cuban educational success. South Africa must strive towards achieving this goal. Issued by YCLSA Head Office For more information contact: Khaya Xaba YCLSA National Spokesperson Cell: 074 5 204 204 Sent from my iPad Sent from my iPad -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
