Last week hundreds of thousands of 2021 matric pupils received their results and were met with emotional responses from across the country ranging from euphoria to devastation.
For those who did well it was a moment to celebrate hard-earned accomplishments that will give them a head start for the future. For those who didn’t do well it was a time of despair and disappointment.
Receiving disappointing results can be a shock to the system, especially if you worked hard and expected better. According to results released by the department of basic education, the overall matric pass rate for 2021 has marginally increased by 0.2 percentage points from 76.2% the previous year to 76.4.
The results mean that out of the 735,000 candidates who wrote the 2021 National Senior Certificate nearly a quarter did not pass. This is not only an indictment on the pupils who did not make it but equally on the education system. It is also a serious worry for a country already suffering skyrocketing unemployment, particularly among the youth, and a dearth of skills.
The prospect of getting a job for those who fail matric is dire.
Despite overall good performance under difficult circumstances and various promises and curriculum changes meant to improve the quality of education for all, there remain systemic problems in education that blight the achievements.
These include insufficient training of teachers, underperformance in certain subjects and lack of early support for pupils who are struggling before they reach matric.
So while celebrations for those who have made it are warranted perhaps it is time to consider the plight of those who didn’t make it and their prospects in life going forward.
They will need all our support as they face bleak prospects.
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