DA blames union for poor matric pass rate

The trade union Sadtu was partly to blame for a decline in matric results in Gauteng province, the Democratic Alliance said on.

"The DA believes that the impact of the SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) related disruptions on education in 2009 led to this decline," said Khume Ramulifho, the DA's education spokesman.

"Some educators did not complete the whole curriculum, and absences from their classrooms exacerbated the problem."

Ramulifho said Gauteng had set a target pass rate of 80 percent for 2009 but the pass rate in fact declined by 4.6 percent to 71.8 percent. "While the MEC for education admits that there is a need to get the basics of our education right, the truth is that there is still too much talk and not enough action.

"To date none of the educators involved in illegal strike action have been brought to book," said Ramulifho.

Meanwhile, in the Western Cape, Sadtu criticised DA leader Helen Zille, saying she did not invite union officials to the release of the matric results - a claim that was denied by Zille's office.

"The decision of the new administration led by premier Helen Zille, who has consistently criticised Sadtu publicly, not to invite Sadtu is regrettable," said Sadtu.

"The union is a key role-player in the education sector and it's clear that the new administration does not value our contribution," Sadtu said in a statement.

However, Zille's spokesman Robert Macdonald said Sadtu was indeed invited to the event but declined to attend.

This was because the union wanted more seats than there were available, said Macdonald.

The DA earlier on Thursday expressed "dismay" at the drop in the national pass rate. "The [DA] notes with dismay the 1.8 percent decline in nation-wide matriculant pass rates, as announced by the basic education ministry earlier today," education spokeswoman Juanita Kloppers Lourens said.

The 2009 national pass rate for the National Senior Certificate stood at 60.7 percent, compared to 62.5 percent in 2008.