By Johnathan Paoli
The country’s most populous provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape are satisfied at the outstanding performance of matriculants.
Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane commended pupils and teachers for their hard work.
“Thousands of you have again in the past year shown your dedication to your profession and to our children, attending courses, participating in our in-service development offerings, upgrading your management skills and most importantly putting our learners at the centre of your efforts every day,” Chiloane said.
Gauteng achieved a historic 88.41% matric pass rate, the highest since 1995 and a 3% improvement from last year.
Notable achievements include 66,979 Bachelor passes, contributing 20% of national bachelor-level qualifications, and a 51.5% pass rate among progressed learners, up from 42.5% in 2023.
All 15 districts surpassed the 84.5% pass rate, with Johannesburg West achieving the highest national district pass rate in the country at 97%.
Gateway subjects like Mathematics and Physical Sciences showed marked improvements. The pass rate for maths was 72.7% and for Physical Sciences 79%.
Indigenous language results were strong, with isiNdebele and South African Sign Language achieving 100% pass rates.
KwaZulu-Natal education MEC Siphosihle Hlomuka praised the collective efforts of educators, parents and stakeholders in overcoming challenges like resource shortages.
“I have the utmost confidence that these young minds will grow into agents of positive change. Armed with knowledge and skills, they are well-equipped to address the numerous challenges faced not only by South Africa, but also by those in other parts of the world,” Hlomuka said.
KwaZulu-Natal achieved an 89.5% pass rate, an improvement from 86.4% in 2023, with 144,990 of the 161,962 learners passing.
The number of schools achieving a 100% pass rate rose from 246 to 321, and no school recorded a 0% pass rate. The number of schools that performed below 75% fell from 288 in 2023 to 182 in 2024.
The uMkhanyakude District led with a 92.8% pass rate, followed by Ugu at 91.7%, and Ilembe and Zululand tied at 89.5%; while the most improved district was King Cetshwayo that moved from 83.4% to 88.6%.
Bachelor passes increased to 84,470, however, the number of diploma passes decreased from 43769 to 42830 and the number of higher certificates also decreased from 20435 to 17609.
The province’s learners performed exceptionally well in languages, recording a 100% in IsiXhosa first additional language, 99.9% in IsiXhosa home language and 99.9% in IsiZulu home language.
In the Eastern Cape, education MEC Fundile Gade encouraged unsuccessful candidates to persevere and highlighed the province’s strides in education quality and accessibility.
“I am proud to express that no learners were left behind in getting the opportunity to sit for their NSC examinations. The future of this country is in your hands, make it work,” Gade said.
Gade was joined by the Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who is in her home province this week for the matric results and the opening of schools. She commended district directors and teachers and motivated the Eastern Cape to maintain its pursuit of excellence in Mathematics and Science.
“A province like ours, it is incredibly rare that a province such as ours that is incredibly rural, can produce one of the top three highest number of Bachelor passes. [t] says that there is something right happening in the province,” the minister said.
The province achieved an 84.9% pass rate, whoch was a 3.56% increase from 2023. There was a total of 352,524 passes, a 45.7% Bachelor pass rate and 35,640 distinctions, which was a five-year high.
Subject performance improved significantly, with gains in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and gateway subjects such as Accounting and Economics.
The number of schools performing at 70% and below has dropped from 95 to 65, while the number of schools performing above 90% pass has improved from 254 to 382.
School-based assessments saw notable enhancements, while Quintile 1-3 schools demonstrating strong improvements, averaging pass rates above 80%.
The top-performing districts included Chris Hani East (88.5%), Amathole East (87.8%) and Alfred Nzo West (86.9%), while the OR Tambo Coastal district improved the most from 78.3% to 83.9%.
Curriculum interventions like extra classes, virtual lessons and online support played a key role, while collaborations with unions, NGOs and private entities further supporting learners, providing resources and motivation.
INSIDE EDUCATION
