Oversight inspections by the DA at Ilembe schools – ahead of the all-important National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in less than two weeks’ time – have revealed little to no change at the district’s worst-performing school in 2023.
The oversights form part of the DA’s State of Readiness Tour (SORT), covering all 12 of KZN’s education districts ahead of the all-important examinations, in order to establish interventions by the province’s Department of Education (DoE) at schools which failed to perform in the 2023 NSC exams.
On Friday last week, the DA visited Sabuyaze Secondary School (view here and here), the worst performing school in the Ilembe District which only achieved a 60% pass rate in 2023.
The school, which is ranked as Quintile 1, is in a desperate state. This due to little assistance by KZN’s Department of Education (DoE) to date and having had no permanent principal since July.
Educators the DA spoke to during the oversight foresee little to no progress in terms of results this year.
Despite the severe challenges on the ground, the DA found that facilities are good despite the school’s rural location. Another positive note was that despite extreme poverty within the surrounding community, there is little crime.
Parents are also actively involved in the school, an interesting finding after last weeks’ oversights which revealed poor parental involvement at an urban school in Chatsworth.
The DA’s discussions with the acting principal Mr Mbongiseni Zulu also revealed that a science laboratory is at the top of the schools’ wish list. We will actively pursue making this a reality and will look to possibly starting a fundraiser to make this a reality.
The DA will escalate its findings at Sabuyaze Secondary school to KZN Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka and his department as a matter of urgency in a bid to assist wherever possible ahead of the all-important NSC exams.
The DA in KZN has consistently spoken about the Good Quality Triad (GQT) in Education. This includes sound leadership at the apex, good parental involvement and well-built and maintained school infrastructure.
The learners at this school deserve to be given every opportunity to reach their full potential. The DA is committed to making a difference at this and other schools.