By Akani Nkuna
Political parties have congratulated the Class of 2024 for their remarkable determination which has ensured that they achieved the highest pass rate in the history of the country.
Despite the unprecedented disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the pass rate for last year was 87.3%.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri praised the collaborative efforts and parents, teachers and learners, whose combined hard work and dedication led to the improvement in the results.
“The Class of 2024 achieved a historic 87.3% pass rate, the highest in the country’s history. This remarkable milestone reflects the resilience of learners, educators and parents, as well as the decisive role of successive ANC-led administrations’ interventions in education,” she said on Tuesday.
The matric pass rate was 82.9% in 2023. A notable highlight is that the class got the highest ever number of Bachelor passes at 47.8%, representing a 6.9% increase from the previous year.
Democratic Alliance education spokesperson Delmaine Christians also applauded the learners, saying that despite facing adversities and budget constraints which impacted teacher staffing, class sizes, school safety and access to quality resources, they surged beyond expectations.
“We know that learners had to overcome severe socio-economic and other circumstances to reach Grade 12 and sit their examinations, and that many of them used their circumstances as a motivation to ensure they achieve the best possible results,” she said.
Christians further said that the party recommended that South African Council for Educators be strengthened to ensure all teachers were equipped to provide quality education, as even top students struggled with ineffective teaching.
Meanwhile, the EFF cautioned that the country faced significant concerns due to dwindling interest in Physical Sciences and has called for a strong foundation to be instituted for this crucial subject.
EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said that “the declining participation in Physical Sciences and the lack of improvement in results are also major concerns for South Africa’s future”.
“A robust foundation in these subjects is essential for global competitiveness and participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” she said in a statement.
The GOOD Party is also urging the government to allocate more funds to education, focusing on rural areas so that students in village schools receive the same quality education as those in suburban schools.
“Government [needs] to place greater priority on basic education as the basic building block our developmental society. We must [spend] more money on developing our children…, said GOOD secretary general Brett Herron.
INSIDE EDUCATION
