There must be consequences for 0 percent pass rates: Zuma
President Jacob Zuma has urged the Basic Education Lekgotla to reflect honestly on accountability throughout the basic education system.
The three day lekgotla, which kicked off in Irene yesterday, will tackle various issues in the sector.
President Zuma says there must be consequences for principals and school management teams who record a zero percent pass rate.
"When I hear there is a school that only produced 0 percent, I always ask what they were doing from January to November. Teachers standing in front of the kids everyday...what were they doing? If I'm a teacher with no passes, working, being paid - it means I'm being paid for doing nothing," says President Zuma.
While government is pleased with the progress made in rebuilding the education system, President Zuma says immense challenges still remain.
"Only less than 50 percent of all the learners who joined our education system reach matriculation level after 12 years of learning. There are many reasons for this anomaly - mostly socio-economic reasons and social ills. Whether it is financial reasons, abuse of drugs or other social challenges, we need to tackle them together. We must keep our youth in school," says President Jacob Zuma.