Bosa says SA’s ‘true’ matric pass rate much lower than 87.3%

South Africa’s “true” matric pass rate for 2024 is 51%, markedly lower than the figure announced by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), according to Build One South Africa (Bosa).

 Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube on Monday announced that  South Africa’s class of 2024 achieved an 87.3% pass rate, which is the country’s highest since the dawn of democracy.

‘True matric pass rate’

However, Bosa acting spokesperson, Roger Solomons, said the results are “misleading.”

“The true matric pass rate is a much lower 51% – pointing to an education system that is jeopardising the future of our young people.

“Of the 1.2 million learners who began school in grade 1 in 2013, just 615 00 have passed matric in 2024 – a true pass rate of just 51%. This means over 590 000 young people didn’t make it,” Solomons said.

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Solomons said while many pupils may have pursued other modes of education – such as TVET colleges – many more have “dropped out or fallen through the cracks in the education system.”

“They will now likely face an uphill battle to enter the economy and find a job.”

‘Flashing red lights’

Solomons said the 2024 matric results illustrate a number of “flashing red lights”, including the dropout rate and 30% pass mark.

“In order to inflate pass rates, pass marks are unjustifiably low. Current standards convey to learners that 30% and 40% are acceptable achievements. Crucially, the majority of students who take crucial matric subjects pass with less than 50%.

“There is little debate about whether South Africa has an education crisis. To fix this, the 30% pass mark must be scrapped and replaced by a 50% minimum for all subjects,” Solomons said.

Solomons said Bosa will continue to pursue all interventions to fix “what is broken” and ensure that every South African pupil can thrive.

DA and GNU

Meanwhile, Bosa leader Mmusi Maimane took a swipe at the Democratic Alliance (DA), who over the years, used to also speak about the real matric pass rate.

“The Democratic Alliance used to talk about the real pass rate. They joined the GNU and forgot that they cared about education standards.

“What is the true matric pass rate, we have taken the time to get South Africa that information. We will never sell out the children of this nation for blue lights,” Maimane said in a post on X (formally Twitter).

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