August, 06 2025
The Young Communist League of South Africa in Moses Kotane (North West province) has noted the circulating video of MEC Viola Motsumi speaking to underperforming schools. In principle, we believe that it is admirable to demand performance from teachers, but the desired outcomes are questionable.
The objective of achieving a 95% pass rate is symbolic of a national education system obsessed with statistics that mean nothing in the lives of many of the learners. There is no honour in celebrating an inhuman system that only caters for academically gifted learners while neglecting many black learners gifted with other talents who are forced to get collectable marks that will not ever assist them in their lives.
Early this year, as tradition, we released a statement celebrating yet mourning the province’s matric results and said the following:” The reason that we mourn the results is that many who passed have simply been certificated, but 12 years of schooling has not given them skills they can use to become economically active.
The lack of skills in the curriculum makes the youth of this province bystanders while foreign nationals, those who went directly to TVET colleges after grade 9 and those who come from prison have skills that they can make a living from. The provincial Department of Education’s lack of urgency in implementing the three-stream model on a full scale is deplorable. The three-stream model has expanded the curriculum to include subjects such as nail and beauty, woodwork, construction, entrepreneurship, agricultural technology, which deals with agricultural machinery etc. While provinces like Gauteng have shown urgency in implementing the model in townships, many of our township schools are stuck in the history, physics and commerce subject stream.”
The objective of a 95% pass rate would be commendable if that 95% were not only going to qualify to go to universities but also be able to enter the job market with skills or open their own business. Foreign nationals come from all over the world and make a living in this country with their skills, not matric certificates. Today, these foreigners dominate our local spaza shops, construction sites and many businesses in our towns.
MEC Motsumi’s energy and passion are good but misdirected. Instead of wanting to be like Free State, she should want to make a positive name for herself by emulating Panyaza Lesufi, who is not known for being number 1 as a province, but for creating schools of specialisation that have skilled many young people. The grim reality is that a child who passed physics with 35% of “collectable marks” is properly unemployed, while another who went to a Gauteng school and passed nail and hair technology is also unemployed but making an income by doing people’s hair and nails on a daily basis.
Issued by YCLSA Moses Kotane 6th Provincial Committee
Provincial Spokesperson
Cde Edward Ditshwele
061 540 2748
For enquiries
Media and Liaison Officer
Cde Tumelo Lephogole
0734447389
