“Sacrifice holidays, and reap the rewards in Jan”: MEC Barbara Creecy

Gauteng Education MEC, Barbara Creecy assured the matric class of 2014 that the sacrifices they make of attending extra classes during the April school holidays would reward them when the matric results are announced in January next year.

This when she visited the Senior Secondary School site at Ponelopele Secondary in Ivory Park, to motivate the Matric Class of 2014. Accompanying her was Gauteng’s top 2013 matriculant, Praise Ndebele.

“I know no one wants to give up their holidays and attend extra classes” said the MEC.

“I also know that pupils who do well and who achieve a university pass and even succeed in getting a bursary for their further studies are pupils who attend the Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP) classes on a regular basis. In fact I will go so far as to say that if you attend each and every SSIP class I can guarantee that you will pass matric,” said Creecy.

MEC Creecy also stressed that there is no substitute for hard work. In order to get good results at the end of the year, the work has to start now. She further pointed out that putting in the effort early will mean less pressure in October when learners prepare to write their final examinations.

Now in its fifth year of implementation the SSIP, has become an important element of improving the quality of education in Gauteng Schools. By providing support to educators and school managers to ensure better curriculum delivery during the school week, as well as supplementary tuition on weekends and school holidays, SSIP has helped 435 priority schools to achieve the provincial benchmarks.

“SSIP Schools have shown an average performance increase of 15 percentage points since 2009 and the gap in performance between fee paying and no fee schools has narrowed from 24 percentage points in 2009 to nine percentage points in 2013,” said MEC Creecy.

“Today the number of public schools achieving a pass rate of less than 60 per cent has dropped from 188 in 2009 to 19 in 2013,”said the MEC.

The MEC further noted that in 2009 the Gauteng pass rate was 71.8 per cent, this rose to 87 per cent in 2013.

“SSIP will be especially important in 2014 to help us mitigate the risks posed by the fact that this year Gauteng Matriculants will write the National Senior Certificate examinations based on CAPS for the first time,” said the MEC.

“Through the programme teachers will receive additional training to ensure they are confident to deliver the new curriculum. We have also ensured that pupil study notes and the extra classes are aligned to the CAPS curriculum”, said the MEC.

Extra classes for the 2014 matrics will run throughout this week. Once the new term starts, extra classes will be held every Saturday. Programmes will also run during the June holidays as well as the September vacation.

Subjects targeted are: Maths; Maths Literacy; Physical Science; Life Sciences; Accounting; English First Additional Language; Economics, Business Studies; History and Geography.

The MEC also urged parents to rally behind the programme and ensure that their children attend the lessons.

“Extra tuition classes vital”: MEC Barbara Creecy

Gauteng Education MEC, Barbara Creecy will continue to discuss the importance of being part of the Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP) today (Wednesday, 2 April).

SSIP is one of the Gauteng Department of Education’s key intervention strategies to turnaround performance in priority schools around the province.

The programme provides extra tuition classes by expert teachers to Grade 12, 11 and 10 pupils on Saturdays and during school holidays.

The Ponelopele Seconary School which MEC Creecy will be visiting produced Gauteng’s 2013 top pupil, Praise Ndebele who was the first pupil from a no-fee school in Gauteng to achieve such an accolade.

According to Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) spokesperson, Phumla Sekhonyane, “SSIP which is in its 5th year in 2014, has become an important element of schooling in Gauteng.

“Nearly 50 per cent of public high schools in the province participate in the programme.

“The programme has been short-listed among the best projects for final evaluation by the United Nations Committee of Experts in Public Administration.”

The SSIP site at Ponelopele Seconary School which MEC Creecy will be visiting produced Gauteng’s 2013 top pupil, Praise Ndebele who was the first pupil from a no-fee school in Gauteng to achieve such an accolade.

For more information contact the GDE’s head of communication, Phumla on 011 355 1530 or 071 860 4496.