FORM V CLASS OF 2019 EXCELS ST MARK’S DOES IT AGAIN

MBABANE – The Form V Class of 2019 candidates have beaten all odds in the external examinations.  Despite the numerous class disturbances last year during the teachers’ strike over the cost-of-living adjustment (CoLA), the 2019 Form V candidates have also produced the best results since 2010.

This was also the case with both the Grade VII and Form III results which were released earlier this year and were also deemed as the best in 10 years.
Yesterday, the Minister of Education and Training, Lady Mabuza revealed that the 2019 results overall pass rate was 92.77 per cent, which showed an increase of 0.96 per cent when compared with the 2018 overall pass rate, which stood at 91.81 per cent.

Records

The Form V examinations are known as the Eswatini General Certificate in Secondary Education (EGCSE) and the Prevocational (PREVOC) Examinations. The minister, through records from the Examinations Council of Eswatini (ECESWA), stated that there were 17 subjects examined and that the candidature had increased by 0.51 per cent.

The minister further revealed that the number of candidates who passed and scored A* to G in four or more subjects including English, was at 91.66 per cent.
Speaking at the press conference which was held at the ministry yesterday, Mabuza said the aforementioned figure showed an increase of 2.66 per cent when compared to the 2018 pass rate, which stood at 89 per cent.

On the performance of candidates the minister stated that in 2019 the pass rate was 91.66 per cent, which was also the highest since 2010.
It was reported that the candidature for the 2019 examinations was 20 002 which showed a decrease of 1.46 per cent when compared with the previous year where 20 229 candidates had registered for the examinations.

There were 10 781 females who registered for the examination while there were lesser males, at 9 221.
The percentage ration according to the analysis was 53.06 per cent females and males at 46.10 per cent.
The report shows that there were 15 283 fulltime candidates who sat for the examination, which was an increase of 78 pupils compared to the 15 205 candidature in 2018.

The minister revealed that there were six candidates who shared position one who were chosen based on their performance in the best six subjects and these were from Salesian High, Lusoti High, Mhlume High, KaBoyce High and Entandweni High Schools.

Delivering a speech after officially presenting the results, the minister thanked all candidates who were successful in both the EGCSE and PREVOC examination and said she wished them the best as they pursued their tertiary education after successfully completing their high school education. Mabuza congratulated the schools that produced good results, saying she was looking forward to an even better performance in the 2020 examinations.

“To the schools and candidates that did not do well in 2019, I encourage you to reflect on what went wrong and then put more effort in order to improve this year.
“Parents play an important role in the education of their children. I would like to appreciate the support they gave to the children when preparing for the examination,” she said.

Appreciated

Furthermore, the minister appreciated the work done by head teachers and teachers, saying they ensured that children were registered for the examinations and were well taught and prepared for it.

She also thanked all who were involved in ensuring that the results were released on time, which she said allowed the candidates to make necessary arrangements for their tertiary education.

“I would like to encourage teachers to organise themselves as schools open for the year and to use teaching time effectively. Head teachers are encouraged to ensure that teaching and learning takes place in schools. Likewise, pupils are also encouraged to study as early as possible to ensure that they achieve good results,” the minister emphasised.

Also, the minister appreciated the effort made by ECESWA top ensure that the prevocational qualification was accredited.
“I was made aware that Cambridge Assessment will now accredit this qualification with effect from 2021. I look forward to more candidates taking prevocational subjects,” she highlighted.
It should be noted that 2019 was not the first year pupils had to write examination while there were challenges. In 2018, schools faced a myriad of challenges as civil servants, who included teachers, were on a go-slow.
As a result, government found itself having to deploy members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service in schools to ensure safety and proper invigilation as there were fears that the examination papers could be leaked or that pupils would copy.

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