World Teachers Day: 3 steps to achieve a 100% Matric pass rate in South Africa

In honour of World Teachers Day, we as members of society and parents can partner with innovative organisations to advance South Africa’s matric pass rate through the holistic development of learners, especially those from difficult or challenged socio-economic backgrounds. 

In 2011, a little over 50% of Cape Town’s residents aged 20 years and above did not have Matric and a further 30% were still completing Matric. The percentage of these young adults who hadn’t completed the final school grade dropped to 42% by 2022, whilst that of those still completing Matric in that year improved to 37% according to the City’s Census 2022 results. 

However, parts of the City such as Philippi, a farm community-turned-township in the Cape Flats district, have continued to be characterised by a common denominator of low education levels, employment rates and household incomes.

One of the concerns in the area is the school dropout rate. Research shows that mostly Black youth in the Cape Flats and surrounding communities are amongst the most vulnerable to dropping out of school before completing Matric for various complex reasons – ranging from poor quality education to gangsterism and substance abuse.  

Yet despite its challenges, Philippi is also home to many growing enterprises which were established amid the surrounding adversities. Sandiswa Gwele was acutely aware of the challenges facing local learners in 2019 when she founded Ukhanyo Foundation (“Ukhanyo”), a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) in Philippi that offers a second chance to students that have been unsuccessful in passing their Matric examinations. Having previously failed Matric herself and thus not possessing the National Senior Certificate at that point in time, she felt compelled to create a safe and supportive space to nurture those who haven’t obtained it the first time round. 

“We want to be that Centre that brings opportunities here e-Philippi (which translates to “…here in Philippi” in IsiXhosa dialect), Gwele explains in an interview, whilst expressing her desire for Ukhanyo to move from their current rental space in Philippi Village to owning a building that will be the new home and centre of excellence for their learners. They typically come from the township of Philippi and surrounding areas, where the social issues experienced serve as real deterrents to completing Matric. 

Ukhanyo provides academic support, self-development and career pathways to improve their further education and employment prospects, with these being statistically proven to be directly dependent on having a matric qualification. It offers the opportunity and physical space to do so for over a hundred registered full-time students studying 12 subjects taught by 7 permanent teachers. This is done in partnership with institutions that avail teaching resources to supplement those received from the Western Cape Department of Education. Ukhanyo’s Matric pass rate in 2024 was 70%, and their vision is to achieve a 100% pass rate at the centre of excellence.

As we commemorate World Teachers Day, this is how we can collectively play a part in getting our children to flourish.

Firstly, we members of society need to be aware of and acknowledge the high school dropout rate and the socioeconomic factors that contribute to it, followed by an openness to becoming a part of the public discourse on improving the educational outcomes of our nation. The discourse should consider the gender nuances.

Here the suggestion is not that the approach be gendered along binary lines but rather to call on a careful consideration of each sex or gender amid our increasing awareness of gender diversity as a nation. For instance, it has been reported that girls from poorer households and in schools with less resources are amongst the learners most at risk of dropping out of school, such as in instances when they may fall pregnant. 

On the other hand, according to research from Zero Dropout, males are more likely to drop out owing to performing poorly academically, problematic relations with other youth and their educators, and pursuing technical and vocational training. “We’re losing a lot of sons, a lot of boys”, laments Gwele, visibly still hurting from the memory of one of her boy learners being killed locally through gun violence in April 2025.

Secondly, we as parents need to display greater levels of parental involvement at our children’s schools and with their education. Recent research shows this factor to be critical in not only supporting learners but also reducing the inequality in education observed amongst our schools. 

Thirdly, Ukhanyo and similar providers in the education space should be strategic in finding potential donors to sustainably fund their growth ambitions. This can be achieved by soliciting the support of other visionary, youth-oriented and education sector-specific initiatives to service learners’ needs whilst also providing leadership development for the teachers. It will help build a leadership pipeline that will empower future generations of leaders and teachers, and thereby enable succession planning beyond the founder and current teaching staff. 

* Ngendane is a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) practitioner and current Master of Philosophy candidate at UCT GSB. He is writing in his personal capacity.

* Gwele is the Founder and Principal at Ukhanyo Foundation NPO