Times Of Swaziland: FORM V RESULTS BEST IN 5 YEARS

FORM V RESULTS BEST IN 5 YEARS
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Sithembile Hlatshwayo on 19/05/2022 09:04:00


MBABANE – Extraordinary!
This best describes the performance of the class of 2021 in Form V results in
the country, which were the finest compared to the past five years. Against all
odds posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and unrest that resulted in pupils missing
school, it did not stop them from shining in the Eswatini General Certificate in
Secondary Education (EGCSE) and (EPCSE). EPCSE is an acronym for Eswatini
Prevocational Certificate of Secondary Education programme. The overall
performance in the EGCSE exam for 2021 stood at 93.01 per cent. This shows a
slight increase of 0.1 per cent, as the overall performance for 2020 was 92.91
per cent. There were 25 candidates who attained 6 A* and 28 who got 5 A* and one
A.
Statistics by region show that the Manzini Region came out tops, attaining a
credit pass rate of 33.51 per cent, followed by the Lubombo Region, which
achieved a credit pass rate of 33.34 per cent, while the Hhohho Region
accomplished a credit pass rate of 33. 22 per cent and lastly the Shiselweni
region got 31.97 per cent. Announcing the release of the 2021 results, the
Minister of Education and Training, Lady Mabuza, congratulated the class of 2021
for working hard against all odds to prepare for the examination. Mabuza said
following the challenges experienced by the country, the ministry had to adjust
the school calendar year to make up for the lost teaching and learning time.
This adjustment, she said, led to the overlap of the 2021 school calendar year
to the current year.
Mabuza noted that the candidature for the year 2021 increased by 40.08 per cent
when compared with the 2020 entries. She mentioned that a total of 28 072
candidates sat for the 2021 EGCSE examinations, while there were 19 931
candidates in 2020. However, she stated that the number of absentees showed a
remarkable increase from 425 in 2020 to 1 241 in 2021.
Some learners had registered but did not sit for the examinations due to various
reasons. These reasons included readiness for the exams and pregnancy, among
others. Meanwhile, she said the overall performance in the EPCSE was an
incredible 98.86 per cent.
Of note is that the EPCSE was examined for the first time under the new
accreditation agreement with Cambridge. This, Mabuza said meant that the EPCSE
certificate holders would now compete equally with EGCSE graduates for entry
into tertiary institutions. The minister further stated that it was expected
that the number of learners taking up the programme would increase in the coming
years. She noted that a total number of 369 candidates out of 417 sat for the
2021 EPCSE examinations.