Pretoria - Deputy Minister of Education, Advocate Andre Gaum, has warned Dinaledi schools to shape up and improve on their performance in Maths and Science or face losing their status.
Advocate Gaum said the department had invested a lot of resources and money into these schools, which put a focus on mathematics and science, in an effort to push up these subjects' pass rates.
"[We] expect a buzz of activities from them to improve the matric results," he said.
Mr Gaum paid surprise visits to three Dinaledi schools in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Wednesday as inland schools reopened. He visited Rehlabile Secondary School, Modiri Technical High School and Ribane-Laka Secondary School.
The visits were aimed at ensuring the schools were ready for the start of the 2009 school year. Mr Gaum also checked the schools' performance in maths and science as well as the challenges facing the schools and what interventions were needed from the department.
"One of the schools we visited only achieved a 12 percent pass rate, which is unacceptable. We hope the principal will turn things around this year. If this does not happen, we'll have serious interventions," he said.
Speaking to BuaNews, Advocate Gaum said during the visits it was clear that the schools needed to pay more attention to the curriculum plan, ensure that maths and science teachers employed by the schools were experts in their fields and that the school's workshops were properly equipped.
Regarding the challenges of shortage of qualified maths and science teachers and late arrival of textbooks last year reported by management in Lehlabile Secondary School, which led to the drop in maths pass rate last year, Mr Gaum said the department will ask the district to make an analysis on what went wrong and submit a report.
Although the school's matric pass rate in Lehlabile High School improved from 61 percent in 2007 to 71 percent in 2008, the pass rate in maths dropped to 36.8 percent while science increased to 65.4 percent.
Mr Gaum added that the department was willing to intervene to help the schools improve their performance.
"We want performance and want teachers who are motivated including learners and management, pull the maths pass rate up, we'll keep a close eye on the school," he said.
Lehlabile school principal Rector Manganye told BuaNews that learners were ready to work including teachers as the material was delivered on time.
"This year, we are aiming high and targeting more than 80 percent pass rate in maths and science since all the material was delivered last year," Mr Manganye told BuaNews.
