Cape Town – The Western Cape matric pass rate declined from 84.4% to 81.5%, but Masibambisane High School in crime-ridden Delft South bucked this trend by improving their 2018 pass rate by an impressive 31.1%.
Hence Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer paid them a special visit on Friday morning after they recorded a 79.1 pass rate.
There was reason aplenty for the exuberance of pupils, parents and teachers, with Schäfer retweeting @DavidJohnMillar's post that the "school principal of Masibambisane HS shouted 'a bachelors pass' 44 times today. Double the amount of bachelors passes when compared to 2017".
"It is easy in a community like this to say we can’t do this, we are not able to do this, we are not clever enough," said Schäfer, News24 reported.
Shout out to Mr Boesman the principal and Ms Mjila the circuit manager and the entire UPS TEAM for their support. It shows what strong, non-judgemental support can do. The principal did not warm his seat ... he walked about and held on to routine. Makes me feel great for the kids pic.twitter.com/pkMQGbaSa6
— David John Millar (@DavidJohnMillar) January 4, 2019
"Well you are, you have proved it. You have passed. This year, with all your efforts you have put in, you have gone up to 79.1%."
Elated principal Khayalethu Boesman said: "To me, the results are about quality... we called you into the hall and spoke to you individually. (That) has worked and we thank you for responding positively to that."
"Whatever we did last year didn't kill you."
Schäfer noted that the disciplined pupils who passed made the most of the extra classes that were provided.
"Mr Boesman has told me you had extra classes… but you also came to the extra classes, you didn’t stay at home and watch TV or play on your phone. You came to learn. And that attitude in itself shows real commitment from you guys," she said.
"I want to say thank you to the parents because, without the parents being involved in their children’s education, they will not succeed. You can’t do it on your own. You don’t even have to help them study, just being there and supporting them, encouraging them (helps)."
For those who had failed, Boesman implored that they don't give up and keep trying.
The Western Cape placed third behind Gauteng and the Free State with a pass rate of 81.5%. It did have the best retention rate, with almost 63% of students who had been enrolled in Grade 10 in 2016 progressing to write matric this year.
The next best retention rate was Gauteng at 49%.