Lerato Mbhiza
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says every child must attend an Early Childhood Development phase of education and there must be no child left out just because they are poor.
Lesufi was speaking at the 2023 Gauteng Matric Awards held at the Microsoft headquarters in Bryanston, Sandton, where the Gauteng Provincial Government celebrated the top matric learners who helped the province reach an 85.4% matric pass rate in the 2023 matric results.
Lesufi said: “There must be no child who cannot attend ECD because they can’t afford it. We want ECD to be exactly like Grade 1, all children must attend. If we don’t sign the law, we will be defeating the purpose of the BELA Bill on grounds of language.
“Let our children go to school rather than spend time playing with bricks at informal settlements. As Gauteng, we are ready, we will unveil the crèche of the future, there will be no chalk, they will use the latest gadgets.
“This is the foundation for the future. If we can’t get it right, we will fail. Mr President we are ready, sign the bill into law,” he said and added that education authorities are ready to meet those who oppose the BELA Bill in court.
The National Assembly passed the controversial Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill also known as the BELAl Bill last year setting up a legal showdown with the Democratic Alliance and AfriForum who have vowed to fight it all the way to the Constitutional Court.
Lesufi had earlier this week suggested on his X account that matriculants should write the same examinations instead of two separate exams – the Independent Examination Board (IEB) written by private institutions and the National Senior Certificate (NSC) for public schools.
“I want to enter into this debate not influenced by emotions but to give practical examples. In 1995 the national matric results or pass rate was 53.4% and in 2023 the national matric results pass rate was 82%,” Lesufi said on Friday.
He applauded the improvement in the results, where more than 57 000 learners in Gauteng passed with the Bachelors which allows them to study in a university or any tertiary institution .
“We want the best teachers to be where our learners are, what can we do when our best teachers produce 100% and they are recruited by the likes of Curro?” Asked Lesufi.
“It is within that context that we believe all our children should be treated equally and fairly and write one examination across the country to determine who is the best learner in our country.”
He said there cannot be a situation where some children are perceived to have poor quality education and others quality education.
“All these children are South African children. All these children are going to the same universities. All these children deserve quality if there is quality,” he said.
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chilone said the GDE is one of the largest matric examination subsystems of the national system. “We pride ourselves that Gauteng produces some of the highest overall pass rates and bachelor pass rates in the country .
“The class of 2023 achieved a pass rate of 85.4%. This is a 0.95% improvement over the 2022 achievement of 84.4%. Congratulations to the class of 2023. Your hard work and resilience has been justly rewarded”.
INSIDE POLITICS
