The protea spirit: how South Africa’s matric Class of 2024 thrived amidst challenges
“The Class of 2024 reflects the resilience of the protea, South Africa’s national flower and a symbol of renewal and strength.”
These were the words of Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube on Monday evening when releasing the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.
South Africa’s national pass rate for the 2024 NSC increased from 82.9% in 2023 to 87.3%.
Gwarube said the matric Class of 2024 started Grade 8 in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was a huge disruption to teaching and learning globally. They continued to Grade 9, a key year for subject selection for Grades 10 to 12, during the pandemic.
She said the protea thrives in adversity, with its woody seed cones and roots designed to survive wildfires. After the flames of wildfires have passed, the nutrient-rich ash they leave behind nourishes the soil, triggering the release of seeds that rejuvenate protea flowers that blossom even brighter than before.
“Similarly, the matric Class of 2024 has faced immense challenges from Covid-19 that disrupted their learning, to the evolving budget pressures being felt by various provincial departments and schools, to other social ills, such as violence, gangsterism and the new trend of protection-fee rackets terrorising our schools,” Gwarube said.
“Despite these challenges, we have seen the highest rate of learners enrolled for Grade 12 in 2024 writing the NSC exams since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Gwarube said that like the protea, the class of 2024 seems to have drawn strength from adversity, emerging more determined and ready to flourish, proving that from the harshest conditions, greatness can bloom.
Looking at top achievers from schools in rural and under-resourced areas, she said “these young proteas continue to blossom and bloom in spite of the adversity they face”.
Earlier, Basic Education Deputy Minister Dr Reginah Mhaule reminded the nation of the matric Class of 2024’s journey from Grade 8.
Mhaule said the 2020 academic year will not only be remembered as the year that presented health challenges, but also a year the world was engulfed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The matric class had started their secondary education when the crisis took place.
Mhaule explained that the government, along with its education departments and strategic partners, worked tirelessly to strike a balance between saving lives and ensuring the 2020 academic year continued.
She said the department was accused of committing genocide and called unprintable names for insisting schools must open at the height of Covid-19. The department was told other countries were cancelling schooling for 2020 and they should do the same.
“The department at the time stood firm and resolved to find ways of opening schools safely without risking lives,” Mhaule stated.
“We are here today (Monday) to celebrate the 2020 Grade 8 class who are exiting the basic education system to join higher education because we fought to protect their future.”
Mhaule also touched on pupils being affected during Grade 8 and Grade 9 because the curriculum was trimmed and some topics were not covered. Grade 9 determines a learner’s future because when they arrive in Grade 10, that is when they start to specialise.
The parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education also noted the impact of the pandemic, saying the improvement is important in the context of the impact Covid-19 had on teaching and learning for the 2024 cohort of pupils.
The hardship brought by the pandemic on the sector has been devastating, but the sector’s resilience as a whole is commendable and should be enhanced to ensure the sector’s resilience going forward.
thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za