OVER 12 000 CAN’T ENROL AT UNESWA

MBABANE – English continues to be the main challenge to candidates sitting external examinations.

In the 2024 Form V examination, 12 734 candidates did not receive credit passes in the Queen language, with 4 622 managing to get it (credit). According to the English subject performance report for the 2024 Form V examination, 117 candidates earned A*, 322 got A, 1 381 obtained B and 2 802 received grade C.

It, therefore, means the credit rate in English from A* to C for the 2024 Eswatini General Certificate of Secondary Education (EGCSE) is 26.63 per cent against the non-credit rate of 66.07 per cent (D to G).

Stumbling

The English credit pass rate was 24.92 per cent in 2023. Those who got non-credit grades D to G were 11 468 and results for 1 266 candidates were ungraded. English has been singled out because it is a stumbling block to academic progression. It means failure to get a credit in English in Form V has negative repercussions for candidates wishing to pursue courses at the the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) and other institutions of higher learning.
It is an admission requirement.

UNESWA, despite its numerous administrative challenges, is still the country’s yardstick for academic excellence.
It receives substantial amounts of Emalangeni from government as an annual subvention to sustain its operations.
It requires a credit pass in English. Credit passes start from grade A* to C.

Even though a credit pass in the Queen language is an admission requirement, a general pass from D to E, according to their prospectus, may be accepted for study in some of the country’s tertiary institutions.

Admission

These are William Pitcher College, Ngwane Teachers College and the Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU). For instance, the admission policy at Ngwane Teacher’s College provides that candidates must have six passes in a school leaving certificates, including English.

To be admitted at William Pitcher College, an applicant must have a minimum of six passes at EGCSE examination or equivalent, including English language, three of which must be credits. It is worth mentioning though that the 2024 overall English pass rate, which include grade E, is 92.70 per cent.

Candidates who achieved grade C or better in English and five other subjects constitute 13.03 per cent. These are candidates who meet the admission requirement at UNESWA. According to the university’s 2024/2025 prospectus, in order to enter the institution to study for a degree programme, the applicant must have a minimum of six passes, which include a C grade or better in English Language and four other relevant subjects.

The C grade is also required for admission into a diploma programme. Candidates who achieved grade C or better in English and five other subjects constituted 12.18 per cent in 2023 and 12.28 per cent in 2022.They constituted 10.02 per cent in 2021 and 14.29 per cent in 2019.

In the 2024 EGCSE examination, there were 17 539 fulltime candidates and 2 668 registered as private candidates, with the overall total standing at 20 207. Releasing the EGCSE results yesterday, Owen Nxumalo, the Minister for Education and Training, said the 2024 candidature increased when compared with data for 2023.

Remarkable

Nxumalo asserted that the number of candidates who registered for the 2024 examinations reached a remarkable peak, marking the highest in the past 10 years. The minister mentioned that 2024 candidature was only surpassed by the exceptional year of 2020, when the number of EGCSE/EPCSE candidates sharply soared due to the automatic progression strategy that was implemented across all grades in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He pointed to the fact that upward trend in the 2024 candidature might be attributed to several factors, one of which was the steady return to normalcy to the teaching and learning – post-COVID-19 era. He said there were also no disturbances that occurred in teaching and learning in 2024 as witnessed during the time of civil unrest in the kingdom.

Nxumalo said there has been improvement in candidate performance in the EGCSE and EPCSE examination when compared to 2023. He alluded to the fact that the only decline in candidate performance was recorded with the IGCSE examination.

He commended teachers, head teachers and parents for their joint effort in preparing candidates for the examination.
The minister was pleased that there were no incidents of examination question paper leakages in the 2024 EGCSE examinations. He attributed this achievement to stringent controls introduced by the Examinations Council of Eswatini (ECESWA).

Resit

He said the public would recall that ECESWA ordered a resit examination of seven components in November 2023 following the leakage of contents of some question papers. He was optimistic the country will never experience any leakage of examination question papers in the future, assuring the nation that the integrity and credibility of the examinations will always be safeguarded.

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