By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Department of Basic Education has released the final National Senior Certificate results for the 2022 matric year showing a 3.7 percentage point increase in the pass rate to 80.1%.
Speaking during an address to the nation on 19 January 2022, the basic education minister Angie Motshekga, said that the 2022 cohort was the most resilient yet, facing pandemic challenges and load shedding.
She said the increase to 80.1% marks the second highest since 2019.
For the past ten years, the NSC pass rate has been going up from 60% in 2009, and the matric class of 2022 maintained this trend despite the astronomical challenges, said Motshekga.
According to the department, 922,034 matrics registered to take the exams last year, of these 87% (725,146) were full-time candidates.
The number of bachelor passes increased by 8.9%, and the number of diploma passes also improved. She added that Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natla contributed the most bachelor passes.
Out of the 2022 matric class, 278,815 students achieved a bachelor’s pass, 197,357 (26.7%) achieved a diploma pass, and 14.9% (108,159) achieved a higher certificate pass. This class faced significant challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, starting in their grade 10 year in 2020.
The minister said that this signals that the education system is incrementally dealing with concerns.
She added that the 2022 cohort was offered 12 new subject offerings, including South African Sign Language, and mechanical technologies, among others.
The minister of fourteen years detailed the size and scope of the matric examinations, listing the following figures:
- 920,000 candidates wrote the exams
- 162 question papers were set
- 10.4 million question papers were printed
- 9.8 million scripts were produced
- 73,000 invigilators were placed across the country
- 52,000 markers
More students (725,146) wrote in 2022 than in 2021 (703,599), Motshekga said.
Motshekga said that all provinces improved with the following results (including progressed learners):
The provinces’ pass rates are as follows:
Gauteng: 84.4%
KZN: 83%
Free State: 88.5%
Eastern Cape: 77.3%
Limpopo: 72.1%
Mpumalanga: 76.8%
Northern Cape: 74.2%
North West: 79.8%
Western Cape: 81.4%
Motshekga is pleased that no province obtained less than 70%.
She said, “I really want to thank the principals; these are the results of their efforts, and we are grateful. We have an amazing cohort of teachers who are energetic and giving their all, and I want to thank them sincerely.”
Motshekga thanked the support staff, parents, and student governing bodies and expressed her gratitude to the communities that know education is “priority number one.”
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Video Courtesy of SABC.