Kagiso Trust joins the Free State Department of Education in congratulating the province’s Class of 2015, specifically the Thabo Mofutsanyana district. The Free State province achieved an 81.6 percent pass rate and the Thabo Mofutsanyana district achieved a pass rate of 87.5 percent, making it the best performing district in the Free State. Kagiso Trust, in partnership with the Free State Department of Education, has been implementing the Beyers Naudé Schools Development Programme (BNSDP) in 166 Thabo Mofutsanyana schools since 2007.

As the programme is in its consolidation and exit phase, Kagiso Trust is pleased at the continued performance of the Thabo Mofutsanyana district which attests to the sustainability of the intervention in the district’s schools. The fact that the district’s performance increased and exceeded both provincial and national averages is indicative of the sustainability principles put in place by the BNSDP.

The BNSDP has a sound strategy of establishing good governance and management principles which will ultimately form the foundation of the long term success of the schools affiliated with the programme. “At the heart of the BNSDP is the quest for deepening the quality and confidence of educators in rural communities as well as encouraging communities around the school to participate in the management of their school,” says Themba Mola, Kagiso Trust chief operations officer.

2015 saw eight of the 46 secondary schools which are part of the BNSDP achieve a remarkable 100 percent pass rate. Situated in the predominantly rural Thabo Mofutsanyana district, the eight schools are: The Beacon Secondary School, Lekgulo Secondary School, Masopha Secondary School, Metsi Matsho Secondary School, Mohaladitwe Secondary School, Rantsane Secondary School, Reahola Secondary School and Thiboloha Special School.

SH Molete, Rantsane Secondary School principal, shares that, “The school had been receiving poor results but since the involvement of Kagiso Trust, every grade has improved its results. In 2008, we received a matric pass rate of 51 percent. We are now a 100 percent pass rate school.” Rantsane Secondary School achieved a 100 percent pass average in 2013, 2014 and 2015. What do they attribute to this success? “The BNSDP provided us with School Governing Body workshops which assisted with management and governance. Teambuilding exercises helped unite our staff, especially in 2013 and 2014 and our school realised its best results ever”, says Molete.

The BNSDP saw 4 094 learners write the National Senior Certificate examination, an increase of 679 learners compared to 2014. 3 495 learners passed: 1 223 bachelor passes, 1 540 diplomas and 715 higher certificates were obtained. The district continues to show a steady growth in performance year on year. 

“We believe that working with government and district officials is integral to sustainability as we share best practice and lessons learned with the district. Thank you to all the parents, teachers, principals and the Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District office for their commitment and hard work and we encourage them to continue to grow and sustain good academic results,” concludes Mola.

Early in 2013, Kagiso Trust together with Shanduka Foundation formed the Kagiso Shanduka Trust (KST) and the two non-governmental organisations partnered with the Free State Department of Education and “embarked on a collaborative initiative to deliver quality education and make education accessible to the most marginalised among us,” says the Free State MEC for Education, Tate Makgoe. 

Through this R400 million partnership, Kagiso Shanduka Trust hopes to significantly improve the academic performance of 428 schools in the Fezile Dabi and Motheo districts. 

The Class of 2015 in the Fezile Dabi district achieved a pass rate of 86.2 percent, securing second position in the province and Motheo achieved 74.8 percent.
 

For more information contact:
Mamello Lefefa
Tel: 011 303 7000
Mobile: 078 425 0731 
Email: Mamello@kaeloengage.com

About the Kagiso Trust

The long history of Kagiso Trust (KT) is entrenched in building sustainable partnerships for poverty eradication. For 30 years, KT has worked with South Africans to achieve a society which offers liberty, justice and freedom from poverty. The core business of KT is empowering poor marginalised South Africans so as to affirm their place and participation in the larger social institution. KT pursues an organisational development strategy that seeks to maximise its unique strength of relating to ordinary people, particularly in rural communities, as well as its’ considerable experience in development facilitation to identify sustainable solutions towards poverty eradication. It currently has three programmes, the Beyers Naudé Schools Development Programme, the Eric Molobi Scholarship Programme and the
Kagiso Enterprises Rural Private Equity Fund. For more information, refer to www.kagiso.co.za.

About the Free State Department of Education

The Free State Department of Education strives to ensure progressive realisation of universal schooling, improving quality of education and eliminating disparities amongst Free State citizens. Our mission is to provide an education system that is free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children of the Free State Province.

For more information, refer to www.education.fs.gov.za.