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Matric  Exam Results
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Education

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 MEDIA RELEASE
 BY MEC STONE SIZANI
ON MATRICULATION EXAMINATION RESULTS
ON 30 DECEMBER 1999

Ladies and Gentlemen, Colleagues and Friends

We are gathered here today for the annual ritual of the official release of the Matriculation Examination results. Let me therefore start 
by commenting on the management of the examinations overall. Once again the Eastern Cape Department of Education has distinguished itself 
with the manner in which these examinations were conducted. The sheer scale of the exercise, together with the logistical challenges posed 
by the security requirements and the geographical location of some of our schools are such that, the successful completion of the exercise 
represents a major achievements in itself.

This year again we have managed to complete the process without any major incidents. There have been no confirmed incidents of examination 
paper leaks or other breaches of security arrangements. We have had only two confirmed incidents of irregularities, both of which were 
identified timeously. We are in the process of taking the strongest possible disciplinary measures against the educators involved in these 
incidents. We are therefore able to declare bot the quality and the integrity of these examinations as beyond reproach.

A total of 7 9831 candidates sat for these examinations, about 3 000 less than the 1998 figure of 85 572. This year 32 029 of these 
candidates were successful, in comparison to the figure of 38 279 in 1998. This means that our overall pass rate has in fact declined to 
40,1%. Matriculation Endorsements have also declined 7,9% in 1998 to 6,6% this year. However, individual performances have continued to 
improve. This year we have 314 students who have managed A – averages, up from 280 last year. The number of schools achieving a 100% pass 
rate has also increased slightly from 39 to 40.

Our top student this year is J.J. Calitz of Framesbury High School in Port Elizabeth who obtained 5 A symbols and 1 B symbol. I wish to 
extend my congratulations to him, his parents and his school. Framesbury High of course also produced our top student last year.

This year we have chosen to release the ranking and comparisons in a new and different format. We have produced a number of tables which 
will be made available to members of the media present here. We have ranked all those schools achieving a 100% pass rate in order of the 
number of candidates they presented. From this point of view, Stirling High School in East London is the top schools this year with 179 
candidates, successfully completing the examinations. We have also ranked schools in the order of the best improvements in their results 
over last year. In this regard Cameron Ngudle S.S.S in the Tsolo District is the most improved school in 1999, succeeding in raising its 
pass rate by a massive 69%.

Another innovation we are introducing this year is to present a breakdown of the overall performance of candidates by district. We do this 
both in the interests of transparency and in the promotion of greater levels of accountability of school and across the province should be 
clear. Humansdorp has emerged as the top district with an overall pass rate of 80,3%. On the other extreme is the Tabankulu District, which 
could only manage a pass rate of 16,6%. This is clearly and manifestly unacceptable.

We have also listed a number of schools which I have identified as worthy of special honourable mention. These are schools that have done 
particularly well given the circumstances under which they operate. Some are schools for learners with special needs, some are located in 
deep rural areas, some are very poorly endowed in infrastructure and facilities, and others draw the majority of their students for working 
class and other disadvantaged backgrounds. Here I wish to single our the Ethembeni Enrichment Centre and Cape Recife High School, which on 
the quality of their 100% pass achievements, are the top schools in Port Elizabeth East and Port Elizabeth West respectively.

COMMENT

We cannot state here today that we are satisfied with what Class of 1999 we been able to achieve. The 40,1% pass rate that we have achieved 
is simply not acceptable. There are tow features of this year’s results that are even more disturbing. The first is the very high 
proportion of students who not only fail the examination, but fail it absolutely hopelessly. The second is the very high number of schools 
that are clearly dysfunctional, in that they are failing their students. A total of 48 schools achieved a pass rate of under 10%, with a 
further 150 schools failing to make the 20% pass mark, and another 151 failing to make the 30% pass mark.

Learners, teachers and their unions and professional associations, principals, parents and School Governing Bodies, District Office Staff 
and the Department of Education as a whole; local communities and society at large, all are responsible for this unsatisfactory state of 
affairs.

I intend releasing a statement early in the New Year in which I will announce a number of measures which the Department will take to 
address this situation. We simply cannot afford to let the slide in our performance continue. These measures would be aimed at ensuring 
that learners are learning and are serious in their efforts; that teachers spend more time in the classroom teaching and are subjected to 
much closer scrutiny and supervision and provided with more professional support, that principals are held accountable for the performance 
of their schools and are supported in the execution of their management and monitoring responsibilities; and that departmental officials 
are actively seen to be engaged in support of the teaching and learning process in schools.

I would however wish to conclude by appealing to all parents and local communities to get involved in the education of their children. 
Everyone has a role to play and we all have something to contribute to the process. Parents and community members in particular can 
contribute by actively supporting and getting involved I their schools, but also by acting as the eyes and ears of the department by 
reporting absenteeism, ill discipline and dereliction of duty on the part of teachers and school principals in particular.

We will all need to get involved if we hope to be able to turn the tide.

I thank you.



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