Comment: School Transformation and Empowerment Partnerships (STEP) EC

The 2024 MBSA Eastern Cape STEP grade 12 project learners managed to perform well, with an average pass rate of 81,1% from 83,1%, though with a slight 1,5% decline from 2023 performance.

Sakhikamva Secondary School displayed a major gain from 81,3% to 89,4% taking the top spot followed by Mzomhle Secondary School performing at 85%, with a similar trend, John Bisseker Secondary School having worked exceptionally hard to achieve 84,7% from a disappointing 69,3% signalling the greatest gain of 15,4%, increase. Nyameko Secondary School and Uviwe Secondary have both suffered about 10% range decline at 79,7% and 75,2% respectively.
Wongalethu Secondary School declined by just 5,7% to 74,5%.

Funda Afrika, bearing in mind the challenges along the way for the 2024 grade 12 cohort of learners, managed to deliver intensive support through MBSA STEP programme, notwithstanding all the adverse circumstances against our schooling communities of learners characterised by loss of teaching and learning time. The learners faced struggled emotionally, socially and economically and compounded by historic inequalities including resource disparities to lack of qualified teachers. All of which affects quality teaching and learning.

The MBSA STEP 1 Eastern Cape and STEP 2 Gauteng project similar to many other partnerships were and still suffer from the effects of Covid – 19 to the system Partnerships such as the MBSA STEP Programme during our interventions have heightened resilience in many of the MBSA school communities by offering continuous educational services to the learners. Funda Afrika ‘s whole school support (WHS) by means of our developmental sessions to educators in the supported target subjects Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Accounting are learner-centred as per guidance the Department of Education and Funda Afrika.

South Africa as a nation is still battling with quality teaching and learning due to inadequately training from the onset in the critical subjects associated to Science Technology and Mathematics. In essence Teachers must be highly skilled to applying lifelong learning, prepare to teach. In addition, we also must be cognisant of the impact of overcrowded classes in most of our schools. The culture of a normal working environment
must be promoted. This is lacking from the bottom up in our schooling system.
Our learners are coached for tests instead of learning with understanding. Thus, our
learners are measured and assessed on their actual abilities.

Inconclusion many of it has been discovered our teachers in lower grades cannot answer questions in the grades that they are teaching. Research states 47% of these teachers are unskilled, compounded by absenteeism, no teacher can help a child with maths or reading due to lack of knowledge.