By Ashley Westaway
2023 saw the retention rate of learners in the public system reach a record high, resulting in the biggest-ever local matric cohort. For the 3rd successive year, the city produced more than 300 Bachelor passes, reflecting that the quality of performance has reached a much higher plateau than previously. However, disapprovingly, the pass rate dropped below both the national and provincial averages. The Makhanda Matric results of 2023 are thus accurately described as a mixed bag.
The annual review of matric results uses a variety of indicators, involving both percentages and numbers, to arrive at a balanced, comprehensive analysis of local performance in relation to both quantity and quality.
The most logical starting point for an analysis of Matric results is the cohort size. The size of the cohort indicates the ability of the local schooling system to retain its learners and prevent their dropout. In 2021 and 2022, there was a massive increase in cohort size; effectively, the retention rate in the city soared from 45% to 65%. A big question going into 2023 was whether Makhanda would be able to hold onto these gains. The simple answer to that question is: Yes, and then some! There were 824 matriculants registered at the city’s public schools in 2023, compared with 785 in 2022. The main reason for the marginal increase in the aggregate number was a much bigger cohort of 84 students at Khutliso Daniels. In fact, the previous record number of matriculants at the school was 49 in 2021, so the 2023 tally is phenomenal.
The school with the most significant number of matriculants in 2023 was Ntsika. Several dimensions of Ntsika’s performance over the past decade have been impressive. One of these is the consistent growth of its Grade 12 class from one year to the next. In 2014, it registered 47 Grade 12 student candidates; ten years later, in 2023, that number had increased almost fourfold, up to 166. Significantly, the school has managed to maintain high academic standards throughout this sustained period of expansion. It is, therefore, an appropriate moment to pay homage to the incredible contribution and legacy of Madeleine Schoeman, who retired as Principal after 12 memorable years at the helm. She was successful in all facets of school leadership; she vastly improved the school’s academic performance, sporting and extra-mural offerings, and school infrastructure (with the notable assistance of the Rotary Clubs of Grahamstown and Grahamstown Sunset). Before her astounding run at Ntsika, she had successfully led Victoria Girls High School for eight years and contributed significantly to PJ Olivier. In other words, she has been a leading light in the Makhanda secondary school sector for the past three decades. Towards the end of 2023, Thobile Ncula was appointed as her successor at Ntsika, and we wish him everything of the best as he seeks to take the school to even greater heights.
Cohort size is of fundamental importance. To grasp this practically, I ask all readers to peruse the performance tables below. In 2019 and 2020, the cohort size was 540 students, whereas it was 824 students in 2023. That is to say that last year, 284 more young people were retained in the schooling system than there were just three years earlier. Another way of expressing this is that the local cohort size has grown by over 50% in just three years. Without question, this is a significant highlight of the 2023 matric statistics.
Grade 4 comprehension testing undertaken by Rhodes University and GADRA Education in September 2023 indicated that Makhanda is considerably more literate than South Africa at large. It is opportune to commend the efforts of the city’s primary schools to lay good educational foundations and build good basic academic skills. We also recognise the support that Rhodes University and many NGOs give to the primary sector. The success and impact of these interventions are reflected in the much higher numbers of Matriculants.
Overall Performance Indicators for Makhanda Matric Performance:
The overall pass rate for the city’s public schools dropped from 85% in 2022 to 80% in 2023, even though the pass rates in most schools increased. More precisely, the pass rates of Graeme College, Khutliso Daniels, Nathaniel Nyaluza, PJ Olivier and TEM Mrwetyana all improved, whilst Victoria Girls maintained its perfect performance in recent years. The reason that the city pass rate dropped is that the three schools where there were declines were the schools with the biggest cohorts, namely Mary Waters, Nombulelo and Ntsika. Significantly, over 50% of the 2023 Makhanda public school cohort were registered at the three schools mentioned above.
It is very heartening to report that the crucial fee-paying component of the public sector performed strongly in 2023. Graeme, PJ Olivier and Victoria Girls offer outstanding educational and extra-mural programmes for very modest fees. The professional teams led by Kevin Watson, Joubert Retief and Warren Schmidt are dedicated, competent and committed. Makhanda is very fortunate to have public schools of such fantastic quality in our city. They punch well above their weight, year in and year out.
According to my records, before 2023, no fee-exempt school had achieved a pass rate of 95%. Therefore, it is appropriate for the city’s education community to laud the historic achievements of the Khutliso Daniels Class of 2023 and all the professional staff at the school. Their 96% pass rate sets a new benchmark for the no-fee sector. Nathaniel Nyaluza and TEM Mrwetyana have endured a torrid past decade. Both have struggled with leadership and management challenges. It is thus a tribute to Mzwandile Kleyi and Lungsie Tambo, both recently appointed in their respective posts, that the pass rates at Nathaniel Nyaluza and TEM Mrwetyana continued to improve in 2023.
The most significant three public sector high schools in Makhanda all saw a drop in their pass rates. Whereas the decline at Ntsika was marginal, the drops were substantial at Mary Waters and Nombulelo. Nombulelo slumped from being the 3rd best-performing school in 2022 to being the 2nd worst in 2023, whilst Mary Waters had its worst set of results in well over a decade.
Before considering the Bachelor passes, it is helpful to link the cohort size and pass rates by referring to the performance tables. The pass rate in 2020 and 2023 was 80%, but because of the much bigger cohort last year, 224 more local students obtained their National Senior Certificates than in 2020.
School-by-school Breakdown of results:
The three schools that occupy the 2023 pass rate podium, Victoria Girls, Khutliso Daniels and Graeme College, also take the top three positions for the Bachelor pass rate. The performance of Victoria Girls in this metric is consistently phenomenal. For the past three years, an average of nine out of every ten learners at the school have obtained a Bachelor’s level pass. Mention should also be made of the fact that Khutliso Daniels almost doubled its previous record number of 25 bachelors, all the way to 46.
We live in a transformed city. Only five years ago, in 2019, 54% of the 187 Bachelors produced then came from the three fee-paying schools, with the six no-fee schools contributing 46%. In 2023, the bachelor contribution of the fee-exempt schools skyrocketed to 63%. That is to say, almost two out of every three Bachelor passes in Makhanda in 2023 were produced by a fee-exempt school.
School-by-school Bachelor performance:
There have been many similarities across the results from the last three years: the cohort size has swelled consistently, the pass rate has been 80% or above, and Bachelor numbers have exceeded 300. We have reached a new plateau of performance in public sector schooling. Our local schooling ecosystem is now operating better and more equitably than at any point in history.
The Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University, Prof Sizwe Mabizela, has long committed himself to mobilising the university and the broader community behind a drive to see Makhanda rise as a city of schooling excellence. Based on the successes that we have collectively achieved, he is convening an education summit next weekend to plan the next phase of our ascent.
We have many problems in Makhanda. Our municipality is not up to scratch. Services are not adequately delivered, and infrastructure is crumbling. But what the education community has shown over the past decade is the power of community solidarity and partnerships. We call on the government to step up so that we can continue to climb up the mountain and reach the summit to become the country’s leading education city.
