Matric class of 2022 records pass rate of 80.1%

The 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) overall pass rate stands at 80.1% – an improvement of 3.7% from the pass rate achieved by the Class of 2021, Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga has announced.

Motshekga said on Thursday that Umalusi quality assured the results for the 2022 examination.

They were the 15th cohort to sit for the NSC exams.

According to Motshekga, 922,034 pupils sat down for the NSC exams, an increase of 2,600 from last year. The number of part-time pupils also increased last year.

“The performance of this cohort remained high despite the challenges,” she said.

Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal contributed the most number of Bachelor passes, though all provinces improved, said Motshekga.

Candidates who wrote the NSC exams will receive their matric results on Friday. Candidates may fetch their statements from the school or exam centre where they wrote.

Provincial level performance

• The Free State is the leading province again, at 85.5%
• Gauteng (84.4%)
• KwaZulu-Natal (83%)
• Western Cape achieved (81.4%)
• North West (79.8%)
• Eastern Cape (77.3%)
• Mpumalanga (76.8%)
• Northern Cape (74.2%)
• Limpopo (72.1%)

Largest full-time cohort

According to Motshekga, the matric class of 2022 has “borne the brunt of Covid-19 in their critical years of Grade 10 and Grade 11”.

The matric class of 2022 is the largest full-time cohort of candidates that sat for the National Senior Certificate examination.

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“We thank pupils for putting in the hours and avoiding the well-beaten path to failure by being slack. We thank the teachers for recognising the spark of greatness in these learners and lighting a fire under them. Success beckons success! Go forth and conquer,” said Motshekga.

“To tower over your peers is no fluke, an accident of history, but it is a triumph reserved for those whose greatness is yet to be experienced.”

Watch the matric results announcements below, courtesy of the SABC:

‘Worst is over’

In her opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Basic Education Reginah Mhaule said the government was proud of the matric class of 2022 for enduring challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“They were affected in grade 10 and grade 11 when they had to do a trimmed curriculum,” she said.

“Today I would like to assure you that the worst is over. We have triumphed against the doom and gloom that engulfed the sector.”

For those who passed, opportunities for funding are abound, she added, encouraging them to apply for Nsfas.

Mhaule encouraged those who did not make it to go back to school.

“We are appealing to those pupils who did not make it that there is still life and the department will give them a second chance.”

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