Cape Town:17/01/04 Pupils of Lavender Hil High School jump for joy after recieving their Matric Results. Minister of Education, Western Cape Debbie Schäfer visited New Eisleben after the schools Matric pass rate jumped by 20%. Today Matrics all around South Africa received their 2016 Matric results. The country saw a spike in passes with the Free State coming first and the Western Cape second. Photo: Bertram Malgas
THE class of 2024 is expected to improve the pass rate, but not by a large percentage.
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube will announce the matric results on Monday following the conclusion of the National Senior Certificate examinations on November 28.
The previous year’s matric pass rate stood at 82.9%. This was up 2% from the 80.1% achieved in 2022 and about 6% up from 2021, when the pass rate was 76.4%.
The Western Cape had a 81.5% matric pass rate last year.
Stellenbosch University Dean of the Faculty of Education, Professor Mbulu Madiba said he anticipated the results to improve slightly.
“Additionally, we are likely to see a high number of Bachelors (passes). This class experienced a full curriculum recovery,” said Madiba.
Naptosa provincial executive committee member, Charline Little said they were optimistic and hoped the pass rate for the Western Cape as well as nationally increased to over 85%.
“We are optimistic, although 2024 has really been a hard year, lots of obstacles, going into 2025. The school could not afford SGB posts, so only two people could participate in the marking. The feedback I got was quite positive, they marked isiXhosa home language and Life Science. Things were running smoothly, especially with the marking, that's across the board. So we expect schools to do well,” said Little.
She added that in her view, exam papers were fair and learners and school did a lot of preparation.
“We anticipate better results nationwide compared to last year. It was a much better paper than we had internally. Most schools were prepared for the external exams, standardised papers were prepared, with districts setting papers that included input from teachers. These were part of mock exams to help students prepare effectively. This practice has been growing, with more districts getting involved this year.”
According to Little, the only challenge for some children would have been the home environment, where they may not have had much needed support.
“Although efforts such as common district papers, extra classes, and Saturday sessions have helped to get students back on track, these interventions can also lead to burnout for some children. When children return home to an environment without adequate support, it takes a toll. The children also needed support from home, which is not always available.”
SAC secretary Wesley Neumann anticipated “no overwhelming improvements in the overall results” in the Western Cape and in key areas, such as mathematics and science.
“Nothing will change except a percentage increase or decrease here and there, no material difference to the lives and ambitions of the poor and most vulnerable.
“However, we remain mindful of systemic disparities affecting disadvantaged communities and that post-94 the playing field was never equalised.
“SAC is optimistic about the class of 2024’s performance and looks forward to seeing these results contribute to the achievement of the needs of the 4th & 5th industrial revolutions. We wish to extend our gratitude to all the teachers from pre-primary all the way to high school for their service and input in our children’s lives.”
For the SAC, the biggest difference could be made following a national conversation on education inclusive of “students, teachers and principals up”.
Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson to MEC David Maynier said: “While the percentage pass rate is an important indicator when assessing the matric results, we must also consider other indicators such as the quality and quantity of passes. This gives a far better picture of improving learning outcomes in the Western Cape.
“These indicators include the number of candidates achieving a bachelors pass, the number of candidates writing and passing, and reducing the number of underperforming schools. We hope to improve our overall pass rate of 81.5% achieved in 2023 and our bachelors pass rate of 42.2% in 2023, and in both cases, we also hope to improve the number of candidates who achieved these results.”
Cape Times