09 Dec 2019

Parliament has applauded the Ministry of Basic Education for improved 2019 Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) results.

Commenting on the statement issued by the basic education minister, Mr Fidelis Molao in Parliament on December 6, they said it was impressing that the results recorded an improvement on learner performance and that the results were released well in time.

MPs commended teachers for their commitment and dedication to improving results, despite the many challenges they continued to face.

Legislators also called for collaboration of private sector, government and parents to improve results. 

They also said teachers working conditions including accommodation problems and student-teacher ratio should be improved for even better results.

They commended the introduction of reception classes and called on the government to speed up its rollout process to all public schools as it prepared learners for mainstream learning and that it should be increased to two years instead of 12 months.

Minister Molao informed the house that the 2019 PSLE results indicated an improved performance by 1.55 per cent from 72.72 per cent in 2018 to 74.33 per cent in 2019 of candidates obtaining grades A, B, and C.

He said the percentage of candidates obtaining grade A in 2019 had gone up by 1.55 per cent from 19.26 per cent to 20.81 per cent. 

He said there had been a slight decrease of 1.05 per cent from 19.14 per cent in 2018 to 18.09 per cent at grade B while grade C the same percentage of 1.05 per cent was recorded as an increase. With regards to grades D and E.

He said the proportion of candidates at Grade D had decreased by 0.46 per cent from 19.58 in 2018 to 19.12 per cent while there had also been a decrease of 1.1 per cent from 7.54 per cent to 6.43 per cent at grade E. 

“This is a welcome development where a lower number of candidates are awarded pass grades and more are awarded credit grades,” he stated.

Mr Molao also said performance varied across regions but noted that all regions performed above 50 per cent. 

He said the results indicated that generally, females performed better than males and that the same trend has been recorded in the past four years.

Mr Molao assured teachers that the ministry would do its best to improve the teaching and learning environment as well as the welfare of teachers.

He further stated that the ministry was currently undergoing a major transformation as per the Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP). 

He said some of the changes included the introduction of Early Childhood Care and Development in public schools, implementation of multiple pathways and tracking learner performance through school and continuous assessment as opposed to the current ‘once-off examination.’

He said the ministry was also intensifying the integration of ICT in teaching and learning to deliver learners who were ready for the 21st-century global demands. ends