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Free State is a distinction province - MEC─── 10:31 Wed, 06 Jan 2016
Bloemfontein - Free State Education MEC, Tate Makgoe, on Wednesday hailed the province for its performance in the 2015 matric exams.
"We are proud of the outstanding performance our learners have given us this year - this is definitely a distinction province," he told reporters in Bloemfontein.
Makgoe said he was excited that the province had achieved a 81.6% pass rate and that the top achievers achieved above 90%.
"In 2009, we were sitting at a 69% pass rate, but since 2012 we have been maintaining a pass rate of 80% and above and we are excited - next year we will be on 90%."
He said this year, the province had also convinced Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, that it needed guidelines for maintaining a higher pass rate.
"There is no pass one, pass all. We want to work with students that have a drive to succeed. When we push learners that have not passed to the next grade, that's the challenge," he said.
He said from this year onwards, the province would focus more on primary schools to ensure quality of education.
"Work should start at the lower grades because we are missing a lot there," Makgoe added.
-News24.com
