JOHANNESBURG – Basic Education Minister, Ms Angie Motshekga acknowledges that matric results have steadily improved since the Department of Education was split into Basic Education and Higher Education in 2009 when the pass rate was 60.6 per cent.
According to Motshekga, “Splitting the Department of Education remains one of the key legacies of the current administration as it also affirmed education as priority number one of the government.”
Motshekga believes South Africa’s education system has stabilised since she took over as Minister of Basic Education.
While education policy analysts professors Adam Habib, Jonathan Jansen and Graeme Bloch questioned the quality of the National Senior Certificate, Motshekga remained resolute when she said she was pleased with the results.
Another achievement by the class of 2013 is an increase in the number of learners who qualify for Bachelor Studies at Higher Education Institutions. A total of 35 708 more candidates qualify for Bachelor Studies at Higher Education Institutions in 2013 compared to those who wrote the examination in 2012.
These achievements are in line with some of the Department’s targets of increasing the number of Grade 12 learners who become eligible for a Bachelor Programme at a university as well as increasing the number of Grade 12 learners who pass Mathematics and Physical Science.
President Jacob Zuma congratulated the class of 2013 on the amazing pass rate they have achieved. He said, “This is the best matric class since 1994,” and hailed the significant improvement in the matric pass rate as the highest since the dawn of freedom and democracy, improving from last year’s national pass rate of 73,9 per cent to 78.2 per cent as announced by the Basic Education Minister.
Zuma said, “Education will take this country to prosperity which is why it is one of government’s five key priorities.
“We are therefore pleased to note this consistently upward trend in the matric results, with the pass rate going from 62.6 per cent in 2008, dipping to 60.6 per cent in 2009 only to rise to 67.8 per cent in 2010, 70.2 per cent in 2011 and 73.9 per cent in 2012.”
MEC for Education in Gauteng Ms Barbara Creecy will be releasing Gauteng matric results on Tuesday morning January 7 in Johannesburg.
