Maboloka - There is a need to shift from the academic to technical vocational curriculum, South Africa's Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Wednesday.
"There is are too many academic schools in our country. We still have what we call colonial landscape of education, everybody want to go to university...It does not mean that if you go to vocational college your career is limited, you can be anything, using your hands," she said in Maboloka north of Brits.
She said she would recommend to the next basic education minister to roll out of vocational education in schools as a priority when her term ends in 18 months.
She visited three schools in North West as part of the department's school readiness and back to school oversight and monitoring visits.
She said in order to obtain the necessary trade skills, vocational education should be engraved in the educational system.
She congratulated Machadam Farm School in Mooinooi south of Brits for obtaining 100 percent matric pass rate for the second year in a row.
"The school is deserving, you cannot achieve 100 percent year after and be treated like anyone. You worked very hard," she said.
Mmadikete Lion Secondary School in Maboloka was also showered with praises for achieving good results under trying environment.
The school obtained 82.47 percent matric pass rate in 2017, 97 candidates wrote matric exam and 80 passed.
The school is situated in a bushy area of the village, the roads leading to the school were not easily accessible, along the road cars drove on what is left of the road as the road surface had been washed away, the school building is also ageing and need a face lift or demolition.
"We are here to appreciate your results. You are hard working, we will see how to help the school," she said.
School governing body (SGB) members asked the minister to build a new school and provide mobile classrooms, they also complained about burglaries and wanted full time security guards at the school.
The North West education department said it could not provide security to schools due to budget constrains.
Motshekga described her visit in North West as a mixed bag in the sense that she visited schools that performed well and those that obtained less that 70 percent pass rate in the matric result.
She first visited Hebron Technical School, which obtained 55% matric pass rate, 143 candidates wrote the examination and only 79 passed.
Motshekga then went to the Machadam Farm School in Mooinooi, the school obtained 100% matric pass rate. All 29 learners passed their matric, not 36 as earlier reported.