Home » Opposition Disputes South African Matric Pass Rate of 75.1%

Opposition Disputes South African Matric Pass Rate of 75.1%

The 2017 National Senior Certificate (NSC) overall pass rate is 75.1%, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga announced on Thursday evening… although the Democratic Alliance (DA) says this is not a reflection of the true matric pass rate. The DA said: “While the pass rate of 75.1% may seem satisfactory, Minister Motshekga has not sufficiently […]

By SAPeople Contributor
05-01-18 14:23
in Education

The 2017 National Senior Certificate (NSC) overall pass rate is 75.1%, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga announced on Thursday evening… although the Democratic Alliance (DA) says this is not a reflection of the true matric pass rate.

The DA said: “While the pass rate of 75.1% may seem satisfactory, Minister Motshekga has not sufficiently addressed the ‘real’ pass rate – how many Grade 10s from two years ago have passed matric?

“The sad reality is that 41% of the learners who had enrolled in Grade 10 in 2015 did not enrol for matric last year. The number of Grade 10s from 2015 who passed matric 2017 – was only 37.3%.

“Nearly half of Grade 10 learners are dropping out of or getting stuck in the system – delaying their entry into post-school education and the job market.”

In a live broadcast to the country last night, Motshekga congratulated the Class of 2017 for maintaining a pass rate above 70%, which has been the trend for the past seven years. (See individual provincial pass rates above.)

President Jacob Zuma commended the improvement in the pass rate, which rose from 72.5% in 2016 to 75.1% in 2017.

“This reaffirms government’s focus on education as an apex priority and the greatest enabler of the society as well as a key aspect of our programme of Radical Socio-Economic Transformation,” said President Zuma.

Motshekga said this represents a total of 401 435 candidates who passed the 2017 NSC examinations.

According to the Education Minister, the 2017 matric class recorded the third highest enrolment of Grade 12 learners in the history of the basic education system in South Africa.

A total of 153 610 candidates achieved Bachelor passes (equivalent to 28.7%); 161 333 passed with a Diploma (equivalent to 30.2%); 86 265 passed with Higher Certificates (equivalent to 16.1%) and 99 passed with a National Senior Certificate.

Minister Motshekga encouraged the 133 049 candidates who did not make it to register for the department’s Second Chance programme.

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