Gauteng is closing the pass rate gap between rich and poor schools

Township schools are upping the quality of their education and fast catching up with schools in the wealthier suburbs, says Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi.

Township schools are upping the quality of their education and fast catching up with schools in the wealthier suburbs, says Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi. 
Image: TimesLIVE/Nico Gous

Gauteng was closing the performance gap between the province’s rich and affluent schools and the township schools, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said on Wednesday.

He said there used to be a gap of between 40% and 60% between rich and poor schools in the province but now that gap had shrunk to a little under 3%.

Township schools achieved a pass rate of 89.82% in the 2019 matric exams, while the non-township schools achieved 92.61.%.

Lesufi said this was because of all the investments and strides that had been made in bettering township schools. These had resulted in it no longer being undesirable to enrol in a township school.

“All the combis and buses that were leaving the township are making a U-turn back to the township, because the quality of education has improved,” he said.

He suggested that township schools were now significantly more convenient than non-township schools as pupils were provided with free education, transport, school uniforms, food, stationery and sanitary towels.

“Gauteng contributed the most candidates qualifying for bachelor studies in 2019, at 43,494. This is up from 41,410 bachelor passes in 2018. Gauteng achieved the best  bachelor-pass rate of all provinces. Nationally, we contributed 23.4% of all bachelors achieved,” Lesufi said.

“Gauteng is still the leading province by virtue of the size of the provincial system. This is despite the increased enrolment compared to 2018,” he said.

More than 30% of pupils (about 30,000) who wrote the exams passed with a diploma pass.

“I am encouraged by the fact that more learners who passed the National Senior Certificate exams in 2019, of 74.73% learners (73,028 of 97,717 learners), passed with a bachelor or diploma pass qualifying them to go into higher education. This is up from 73.97% in 2018,” Lesufi said.

Passenger stuck for three days on train wants refund for ‘horrific’ experience

A passenger who took a Shosholoza Meyl train that got stuck for three days wants a refund.A passenger who took a Shosholoza Meyl train that got stuck for three days wants a refund.
Image: Chuck Coker (Flickr)
One of the passengers stuck on a Shosholoza Meyl train for three days wants a refund for the “horrific” experience.

Zak Benjamin had been travelling with his ailing mother from the Northern Cape to Cape Town on Sunday.

The pair was among hundreds of passengers who were allegedly exposed to an unbearable stench from unflushable toilets. They were also without food and water.

Shosholoza Meyl told TimesLIVE on Tuesday that it had arranged buses to ferry passengers from Laingsburg, but Benjamin said it was too late, as he had already asked a cousin to fetch him and his mother.

“The train managers told us when we were in Laingsburg that they had arranged alternative transport for us. By that time I had asked my cousin to fetch us,” Benjamin said.

He said he and his mother still had to fetch their goods from the train.

“When I come back from my holiday I will take the issue up with Prasa [Passenger Rail Agency of SA]. I will start bombarding them with e-mails now. I am seeking a refund because the experience was horrific. It was horrible.

“People did not have food, no drinking water, the loos were overflowing into the cabin and the smell was unbearable,” said Benjamin.He said his mother, who had a heart problem, was struggling to breathe.

“There was a passenger who was using an oxygen tank. Imagine if he had run out of oxygen. A lot of people were even sleeping on the floor. It was an uncomfortable experience,” Benjamin said.

Shosholoza Meyl spokesperson Daisy Daniel said buses that had been arranged to ferry passengers from Laingsburg arrived in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon.

She said they did not refund passengers and had not received any claims from people wanting their money back.

“We only refund when a passenger didn’t reach the destination. For any passenger who will submit a request for a refund that will be treated differently. There are no requests for refunds.

She said Shosholoza Meyl had measures in place to deal with emergencies.

“In terms of incidents, we deal with them through our emergency plan. For instance, when locomotives fail we provide rescue locos, should the delay be more than four hours. We provide alternative transport and, lastly, we do have an office that monitors all our en-route trains,” said Daniel.

Cash van bombed on N4 near Bronkhorstspruit

One of the cars was left burning after the cash heist. Image: Crime One of the cars was left burning after the cash heist.Air Network (REZA) An armed gang made off with an undisclosed amount of money after they bombed a cash van on the N4 near Bronkhorstspruit on Tuesday, police said. “Four occupants of the security vehicle were forcefully taken out of the vehicle after it was rammed off the road by a sedan,” national police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili said. Muridili said the gang, armed with rifles, fled the scene in three cars, while the car used to ram the cash van was left burning. The incident happened at about 3pm. No injuries were report

Matric results | 98.8% of pupils pass 2019 IEB exams

89.51% of the matric 2019 IEB class qualified for entry to study a degree.

A total of 98.82% of pupils passed the 2019 Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate exams, it was announced on Tuesday.

The IEB pass rate decreased from 98.92% the previous year, its CEO Anne Oberholzer said in a statement.

IEB 2019 matric results are out! Here are your results

Writing examinations in October and November were 11 818 full-time pupils and 779 part-time pupils.

She said 89.51% qualified for entry to study a degree, while 7.91% qualified for entry to study a diploma and 1.4% for studying at the Higher Certificate level.

“Umalusi has monitored all aspects of the 2019 examination process and has declared the results to be fair and valid,” said Oberholzer.

The closing date to apply for re-marking is January 13. Results from re-marking will be released on February 6.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga will announce the national matric pass rate later on Tuesday evening.

The Department of Basic Education will release the National Senior Certificate matric exam results on Wednesday.

Gauteng man fighting for his life after snakebite

A Gauteng man was taken to hospital early on Monday after being bitten by a snake near the Hartebeesspruit River in Kameeldrift.

“Reports from the scene indicate that a 35-year-old male had been bitten on the knee by what has been identified as a Rinkhals snake,” Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said in a statement on Monday.

Upon assessment, medics found the patient was in a serious condition suffering from a cytotoxic bite.

“The patient was treated on the scene by a Netcare 911 emergency care practitioner who provided manual ventilation to assist him to breathe,” Herbst said.

He was stabilised and later transported to hospital for further treatment.