One of the winners at the prestigious Western Cape National Senior Certificate (NSC) 2014 Awards Ceremony, Yaseen Martin believes 2015’s Matric candidates will look at the class of 2014 as a benchmark. Martin was one of several Matric students who scored some of the highest average marks in the province for last year’s NSC exams.

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille on Wednesday honoured these Matriculants as well as the schools with the highest Provincial pass rates. The event was held at Leeuwenhof, the official residence of the premier. Also in attendance to celebrate the success of these students was Western Cape Education MEC, Debbie Schafer.

“My own brother last year made the merit list; that inspired me to do even better in [2014]. I think that kind of legacy does affect the next generation of Matrics, they are definitely influenced to do better,” said Martin.

Zille, during her address to the recipients, said it is the mission of the Department of Education and the Western Cape government’s mission to ensure students have as many options as possible when leaving school.

“It is our job to ensure, that when these children leave school, they’re standing in front of a wide open door to their future. But without a proper school-leaving qualification, that door is largely closed to them,” she said.

Zille cited the strong Matric pass rates in previously disadvantaged schools as evidence of the Western Cape government’s pro-poor stance, which she says has been denied across the country.

“If we look at the effort and the resources, both human and material that we have poured into those disadvantaged areas; to have the result that in five years not a single district, including those serving the poorest of the poor, not one got lower than 80%; that must tell you something,” Zille said. VOC (Andriques Che Petersen)