Cape Town - While the 80.1% matric pass rate gives us a real reason to celebrate, the excessively high dropout rate is very concerning for the future.
The announcement of the improved matric pass rate has sparked widespread celebrations.
This is particularly important since the 2022 matrics had to overcome tremendous odds, including Covid-19 lockdowns and devastating floods.
The worsening economic situation and rolling blackouts mean that the matric class of 2022 had to contend with difficult situations at home. All of this makes their achievement truly inspiring and remarkable.
However, while we celebrate, we should not be blind to the fact that the dropout rate for the 2022 matric class was 31.8%, which translates to 337 364 learners.
The real concern here is that the learners who drop out of the system are condemned to a life of poverty and inequality.
It also means that as a country we have not been able to use education as a tool to equalise society.
The learners who exit the education system without a matric certificate become a burden on the state and swell the ranks of the unemployed.
In the wake of the release of the matric results, we need to ask pertinent questions about what society as a whole can do to keep young people in the school system up to matric level.
The socio-economic challenges confronting us play a critical role in pushing young people out of school.
However, another important factor is the value society attaches to education.
We believe that as a society, through a series of irresponsible actions, we have sent a message to our young people that education is not a priority.
When a community is upset about the slow pace of service delivery and burns a school or prevents pupils from going to school, a message is communicated to our young ones that education is not a priority.
When university students torch an entire library because they are upset with their vice-chancellor, the same message goes out.
How can our young people prioritise education when they see teachers leaving work to attend union meetings? When community members steal school infrastructure that they are supposed to protect, a message goes out that we attach no value to education.
It is this very disturbing culture that needs to change if we are serious about keeping our school-going population interested in their education.
Cape Times