Schools affected by Vuwani protests praised for matric results

The Vhembe district in Limpopo became a cause for celebration at the provincial matric results announcement ceremony in Polokwane despite having gone through a difficult year marked by violent protests in the Vuwani area.

The district‚ which has come out as the province's best-performing district for two years in a row‚ was followed by Mopani in second place and Waterberg in third place. The number of pupils who sat for the National Senior Certificate examination in the province was 101 807‚ with 63 595 passing‚ making for a 62.5% pass rate for 2016 – down from the 65% obtained in 2015. However‚ Limpopo education MEC Ishmael Kgetjepe said the results showed that pupils worked hard despite being faced with serious challenges.

• Vuwani matrics play catch-upMatric pupils and teachers in Vuwani, Limpopo, are scrambling to ensure they are prepared to write final exams due to start in less than three weeks.

Kgetjepe made the announcement on Thursday morning in the presence of pupils and dignitaries.

During his address‚ Kgetjepe congratulated Vhembe for its outstanding performance‚ while pointing out that the Vhuronga 1 circuit came out in first place with 81.2%‚ despite being affected by the Vuwani protests. The Edison Nesengani Secondary School‚ which falls under the Vhuronga 1 circuit‚ was amongst the schools that obtained a 100% pass rate.

“We were saddened to witness teaching and learning in 73 of our primary and secondary schools in Vhembe brought to a halt as a result of the Vuwani protests. Today‚ however‚ is a real testimony that our learners have courageously battled all these wars and managed to sit for their exams like other learners in the province‚” Kgetjepe said.

• Vuwani schools will be ready for final exams: MotshekgaThe Department of Basic Education said it is confident that the work done to restore teaching and learning in Vuwani will be enough for all learners to write their final exams.

The Capricorn and Sekhukhune districts obtained the lowest pass rates.

The Capricorn district dropped from third position in 2015 to fourth position in 2016‚ while Sekhukhune was at the bottom of the list with 51.8 %.

Both districts had schools which obtained a zero-percent pass rate‚ including Nokanantswana Secondary School and Makidi Secondary School.

– TMG Digital/Sowetan