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MATRIC SYLLABUS STOPPAGE TRIPLE BLOW FOR PARENTS

16/10/2023 08:37:00 Phiwase Phungwayo

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MANZINI – It’s a triple loss for parents whose children were enrolled in the officially scrapped Matric syllabus in Eswatini.

This is because their children had to drop out of school since they would not be writing any exams, yet they had paid thousands of Emalangeni as school fees and the administration is refusing to give them refunds. Last Tuesday, the Ministry of Education and Training issued an official notice about the stoppage of the South African National Senior Certificate (NSC) in all Eswatini secondary schools, known as Matric.

Offer

The Acting Principal Secretary (PS) in the ministry, Naniki Mnisi, said this followed the stoppage of the offer of the NSC outside the borders by the South African Department of Basic Education in terms of the law of the Republic of South Africa. The parents, who demand a refund of their school fees, have shared that they had suffered a great loss and worse was seeing their children’s future going down the drain. It is worth noting that In December 2016, the South African Government, through its Department of Basic Education, stopped Eswatini from offering the NSC Examination (Matric). This was communicated through a letter which was sent by the South African Government to the country’s Ministry of Education and Training.

The letter stated that the offering of the NSC Examination in Eswatini and anywhere outside the borders of the Republic of South Africa was not accommodated in policy and regulations and was, therefore, contrary to the laws of the Republic. Essentially, it meant that Eswatini and other neighbouring countries would no longer be authorised to offer Matric. According to the letter, only children of diplomats or staff members of any embassy or consulate will be considered for Matric examinations. Signed by then South African Minister of Education Angie Motshekga, the letter was sent to her Eswatini counterpart, former Minister Phineas Magagula, stating that the termination of the NSC in the country would follow a three-year phasing out approach commencing in 2016 and concluding in 2018.

Meanwhile, a parent whose child attended Morning Side Academy in Matsapha, said his child was doing Grade 12 and enrolled for Matric. The parent revealed that he paid E15 000 in school fees. However, he said when there were issues of writing earlier in the year, the school issued a notice to parents, notifying them of a change to the Independent Examinations Board (IEB). “These exams cost E8 000, exclusive of school fees and this was too costly for us. As a result, we decided to stop our child from attending the school,” the parent said. He said they communicated with the school about this and made it clear that they wanted their refunds. “This was in August but to this day, we have not received a single cent,” the parent said. He decried that not only had he suffered a loss, but also his child who was now delayed and would only restart next year.

Another parent said she paid E8 000 at the beginning of the year and did not settle the outstanding fees. She mentioned that she transferred her child to another private school and communicated with the school in due time. “What is agonising is that to this day, we have not received our monies. There is a lot of back and forth by the school without any clear explanation of when our funds will be reimbursed. As it is, the standard of living is costly and this is daylight robbery,” the parent lamented. The Head teacher, Samuel Chilongwe, acknowledged that some parents demanded refunds. “We have had some parents coming to the school and demanding refunds. But the truth of the matter is that the money was not embezzled in any form. There are expenses such as electricity, water and the salaries of staff members,” the head teacher said.

Transition

He said the stoppage of Matric in the kingdom was not sudden. The head teacher pointed out that the school communicated on time with parents, and informed them of their transition to the IEB syllabus. He said this was done so that they could be well-prepared and not be surprised. He mentioned that some parents switched their children to IEB, while some refused to cooperate with the school, and others decided to stop their children from attending school. On the other hand, while there is confusion by parents on the stoppage of Matric in the country, some schools declared that they were exploring options on how to work around the predicament. Phumelele High School Director Sabelo Mavuso said they were saddened by the stoppage of the curriculum, which greatly affected learners and parents alike. He said other schools had opted for IEB, which parents had declared was expensive and could not afford. “We are grateful to the Ministry of Education and Training for assisting us greatly while the matter was still being dealt with among their South African counterparts. Unfortunately, it seemed that they did not win. As for our school, we are still trying to explore other options to see if our learners would be able to write the exams,” Mavuso said.

The director disclosed that since he had a school in SA, he would explore how local learners would write the exams in the neighbouring country. On another note, he said the stoppage of Matric was traumatic for the pupils who had dreams of advancing their education and huge career aspirations. Mavuso said this was a huge blow on everyone, including the school, since it was among the top 20 best- performing matric schools in the country. Pro Learning Director Ernest Magongo, who was one of those who were working with the ministry on the Matric issue, declared that a majority of schools, including his, had already switched from NSC to IEB syllabus, which was another form of Matric. He said everything was in apple pie order and some learners had started writing their trial exams.