The number of matric failures in 2008 is a concern, said the Young Communist League on Tuesday.

"We are... concerned that there is no improvement in the failure rate; more than 200 000 learners have failed and this is the same margin as that of the previous year," said spokesperson Castro Ngobese in a statement.

On Tuesday, Education Minister Naledi Pandor said the country's 2008 matric class received a pass rate of 62.5 percent.

In 2007 it was 65.2 percent.

Of the 533 561 candidates with a full set of results, 333 681 candidates or 62.5 percent met the requirements for a National Senior Certificate.

Recurring high failure

Ngobese said the education department needed to address the recurring high failure rate.

He said the department should support students to re-write their examinations as full-time students in public schools.

"The department of education should not outsource this responsibility to the highest bidder in the market."

The YCL said there were many socio-economic problems this year which had affected the working class and the rural poor youth.

"This year... will be remembered [for] the militant students' protests against academic and financial exclusions in institutions of higher learning, the steep and ballooning rise of learner pregnancies and school violence, especially in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces."

He said school feeding schemes and access to transport for students in rural areas were eroded by the high cost of living and fuel prices.

The league welcomed the increase in matric endorsements. In 2008 107 462 candidates (20.2 percent) achieved the minimum pass required for entry to undergraduate study at university.

ANCYL help

ANC Youth League spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said they would help both those matriculants who passed and those who failed.

The league would go to communities to talk about post-matric study options and bursary opportunities. It would also ensure that it opened opportunities for those who failed.

"This will be through mobilising these learners into vocational training programmes, national youth service, entrepreneurial development and re-writing of the national certificate examinations."

The league was concerned about teachers and administrators who were responsible for the late submission of results.

Freedom Front Plus education spokesperson Willie Spies said the results did not indicate the success or failure of the new system or government policy.

He said the "exceptional" results of the Independent Examinations Board would draw parents who could afford to, to send their children to private schools.

"Government should see this as an opportunity rather than a threat and utilise private, community and home education as partners, rather than enemies in the fight for better education."

Sapa