Johannesburg – Denel on Thursday thanked the Class of 2016 matriculants in the Free State province for their commitment to winter camps which contributed to the province's remarkable results which saw it achieve a 90-plus percent pass rate.
This comes after the South African State-owned arms and defence products manufacturer responded to a request from the Free State Education Department to host winter camps and enrichment programmes mid-2016 to adequately prepare matriculants for the year-end examinations.
As a result, matriculants in the southern Free State emerged as among the top achievers in 2016 thanks to academic enrichment classes offered by young engineers at Denel. Though the Xhariep District is one of the poorest parts of South Africa, it produced the second best results in the entire country, this after being number 78 in 2015.
The achievements of the Xhariep District contributed towards the Free State chalking up a 93.2 percent pass rate for the National Senior Certificate, the best performing out of the nine provinces, with Xhariep being the leading district in the Free State.
In a statement, acting chief executive of Denel, Zwelakhe Ntshepe, said Denel was exceptionally proud of the contribution it had made to help the Xhariep matriculants achieve these outstanding results.
"This initiative demonstrated how a State-owned company such as Denel can work together with the education authorities and communities to reach national goals," Ntshepe said.
In July, engineers from three Denel companies – including Denel Dynamics, Denel Landward Solutions and Denel Aviation – offered academic enrichment classes in towns such as Trompsburg, Zastron, Fauresmith and Olien. During a four-day period, they focused on maths subjects such as calculus and geometry and taught science courses in mechanics and chemistry.
Just prior to the start of the matric exams, the Denel team went back for a "final push" programme during the October holidays.
"Many of our young engineers come from rural communities and disadvantaged backgrounds and welcome opportunities to give back to society and share their knowledge and experience," Ntshepe said.
Ntshepe added that Denel would build on the 2016 matric success and extend its educational support programmes to other districts in the Free State, as well as other provinces. "We see this as an opportunity to contribute our skills and experience in vital science and technology subjects and contribute to the ability of learners to continue with further studies," Ntshepe said.