Only 65 of the 140 pupils from the controversial Klipspruit West Secondary School who sat for their matric exams passed.
Of the 46% pupils at the Soweto school who passed, only 13 qualify for enrolment at university after they secured Bachelor’s degree admissions.
At least 30 pupils received diploma admissions, which can get them into any university of technology or a college while 12 can only apply for enrolment at a technical and vocational education and training institution.
At least 77 pupils from the class of 2017 will have to repeat Grade 12 this year or write supplementary exams.
The latest pass rate of 46% means that the school’s Grade 12 pass rate has dropped from its 2015 and 2016 results, 50% and 60%, respectively. The result is also far short of the 80% target set by the district office.
Teachers at the Eldorado Park school and some members of the community attributed the disastrous results to violent protests at the school over the selection of a black principal last year.
For about two weeks in September, the institution degenerated into chaos and teaching had to stop for a couple of days after a mainly coloured community protested and demanded the removal of the a black principal hired in July.
When the school reopened, some black teachers refused to go to work, saying they felt unsafe. Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi dissolved the School Governing Body (SGB).
This was followed by a visit by The Star which revealed that black teachers had no access to equipment and other teaching resources.
The Star also witnessed pupils loitering, gambling and using drugs on the school premises.
Lesufi intervened by sending all the matrics to a camp to study and announced that he was considering changing the school’s leadership, teachers and ethos this year.
A Grade 11 teacher said the school’s pass rate will continue to drop unless Lesufi takes further steps such as changing its leadership, preventing the community from getting involved in the hiring of staff and securing the safety of black teachers.
“All the problems at the school, which led to violent protest clearly had an effect on the Grade 12 learners. I don’t blame them from performing poorly, it was bound to happen because the environment was not conducive. Even the camp was not going to help because they were already behind with their school work,” said the teacher.
Henry Charles former deputy chairperson of the now dissolved SGB, blamed black teachers, accusing them of triggering the chaos.
“It is the black teachers’ fault and they failed the school. Lesufi also admitted that the school had become dysfunctional because of the tension. Black teachers stood in solidarity with each other even when some of them were calling coloured learners names. It’s going to be chaos here even when the school reopens,” said Charles.
@lindilesifile