The results for the first class of pupils to write the 2008 National Senior Certificate examination were announced on the 30th of December 2008. The Minister of Education, Ms Naledi Pandor, stated that the pass rate for the 2008 matric class was 62.5 %. This represents a total of 333 681 candidates who met the requirements for a National Senior Certificate, out of a total 533 561 candidates who satisfied all the requirements for receiving results.

This 62.5% 2008 matric pass rate may however paint an incomplete picture. This is due to the high drop out rate from Grade 11 to Grade 12. Of the 920 716 pupils who were in Grade 11 in 2007, only 333 681 pupils advanced to Grade 12 in 2008 and passed their exams. This signifies that only 36%, just over a third, of all pupils who were in Grade 11 in 2007 completed their matric in 2008.

The main reason pupils give for not completing their matric is the inability to pay fees. Poverty remains a major factor in decisions to leave school as children from poor families and communities are required to have an income in order to supplement the household income. Some had to repeat Grade 11 due to poor performance. This trend is especially prevalent in the townships and rural areas, where minimum resources required for successful learning are not available. These resources include the condition of infrastructure, electricity supply, water supply, libraries, laboratories, computers, toilet facilities, and access to schools; amongst others.

The Municipal Outreach Project aims to distribute information on the state of South Africa’s education system. Education is amongst the major challenges in combating poverty, which is the primary goal of the project.

Poverty, unemployment, and education are not mutually exclusive, and these issues will be dealt with by establishing interventions based on international best practices during the course of the Municipal Outreach Project. The project will host a series of workshops during 2008 – Major Urban Poverty Challenges Identification (MUPCI) workshops/roadshows. This first series will take place in the City of Johannesburg, City of Cape Town, eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay, City of Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni Metropolitans, as well as the Motheo, and Capricorn District Municipalities. The workshops will be designed for elected councillors and officials to identify what they see as the major poverty challenges facing their constituents.

A supplement to the South Africa Survey, an annual publication by the South African Institute of Race Relations describing broad socio-economic trends in South Africa, will be published before the end of 2009. The publication will include feedback and poverty data collated by the Institute’s research department. Topics will include demographics, the economy, business and employment, education, health and welfare, and living conditions and communications.

The second series of workshops, the Urban Poverty Intervention (UPI) workshops will take place in 2010. These UPI workshops will explore policy interventions appropriate to the challenges identified in the MUPCI workshops.

The third series of workshops, the Anti Poverty Intervention Implementation Proposals (APIIP) workshops, will take place in 2011. These APIIP workshops will formally propose the policy interventions identified in the first two years. These workshops will be aimed at identifying the most effective means to implement the policy recommendations.

With over 10 million South Africans living on less than R250 per month, poverty remains a hurdle in South Africa’s socio-economic development. This project aims, and has the resources, to combat this issue at its core.

Information regarding the project and on the eight municipalities covered in the project will be readily available on request or on the project website, www.eumunicipaloutreach.org.za.