The class of 2021 started grade 1 in 2010 with 1 117 000 learners. After 12 years of study, only 63% had made it to the final exam. That means 538 000children dropped out during their school careers. Only 48% of those that started completed schooling with an NSC pass. It’s close to impossible to get employment without a National Senior Certificate (NSC) in South Africa. With more than 50% of children condemned to poverty before they even start their adult lives, the education system fails 1 in 2 children in our country.
After 12 years of investment by students, family, and the country, the biggest tragedy is a child dropping out in the final year! It’s like running a 100m track race, stumbling and falling in the last 10 meters, and failing to get up and finish! With a little help from us and the community; a little more effort and resolve from the child, we can overcome this problem.
With children back at school and adults hard at work, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the impact we made last year.
Take a look at these statistics from our top five performing schools in 2021:
1. Our topmost improved Qhubeka school was Thembelihle High School (Khayelitsha)
Since our bicycle handover at Thembelihle High School, the pass rate improved significantly – the best of all our Qhubeka supported schools last year. In 2021, a total of 135 children started their final year. Only 9 of those students dropped out compared to 39 students in the previous year. Of those who started their final year in 2021, 68% passed compared to the 44% pass rate in 2020 – that’s a 24% improvement!
2. Sewagodima Technical & Commercial High School (Pella Village)
A total of 136 children started the final year in 2021 of which only 21 students dropped out compared to 47 students in 2020. Of those who started their final year in 2021, 74% passed compared to the 50% pass rate in 2020 – that’s a 24% improvement!
3. Thebe Ya Thajwa Secondary School (Koffiekraal Village)
Of the 89 children that started the final year in 2021, 0 students dropped out. This is a great improvement from the 16 dropouts in 2020. Compared to 71% in 2020, 90% of the students passed in 2021 – that’s a 19% improvement!
4. Gabonewe High School (Madikwe Town)
Of the 58 children that started the final year in 2021, 0 children dropped out. This is another wonderful improvement from the 8 dropouts in 2020. Compared to 71% in 2020, 86% of the students passed in 2021 – that’s a 15% improvement!
5. Calitzdorp Hoërskool (Calitzdorp Town)
This is an important example of several organizations collaborating in a multi-year commitment for a single area. We were fortunate to be invited to join the initiative by Jan Braai as part of the Tour de Braai Travel on Gravel Cycle Tour community benefit.
Final year drop out |
Pass rate |
|
2018: 2 |
2018: 75% |
|
2019: 4 |
2019: 57% |
|
2020: 0 |
2020: 79% |
| 2021: 0 |
2021: 83% |
Many of these children live on farms long distances from school. Efficient bicycle transport has made a huge difference in their lives. Qhubeka helps children in school to travel faster, further, and improve their education.
Here’s a quick summary of our total bicycle distribution numbers in 2021:
- Bicycles distributed to beneficiaries: 4 011
- Bicycles assembled: 4 621 (We have 610 fully assembled bicycles ready to go in 2022 and parts for 5 000 in inventory)
- Bicycles distributed to scholars: 3 288
- Bicycles distributed to Community Health Workers: 330
- Bicycles distributed to Community Safety Volunteers: 156
- Bicycles distributed to scholars for sport: 50
- Bicycles distributed to Community Bicycle Mechanics: 17
- Bicycles for Jobs (Community Enterprise): 170
We’re proud of these numbers and thankful to you, our donors, for all your support. May the year 2022 make an even greater impact!
We will be releasing our Annual Report shortly – stay posted!
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