By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matrics of 2023 have maintained their 98% and above pass rate of 98.46%, slightly higher than the 98,42% by the class of 2022.
The results were released at midnight on Thursday.
The IEB is an independent body that offers exams for IEB-registered schools, in line with the curriculum standards set by the department of basic education.
There were 12 133 part-time and 13 967 full-time candidates, according to the IEB, and the exam session was run without any outliers that would have compromised the exams’ integrity.
IEB CEO Confidence Dikgole said that although there were setbacks and difficulties during the pupils’ five-year journey, particularly those caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, overall this cohort was well-positioned for success.
According to Dikgole, students’ mental health was an important issue that required attention.
“What, however, is not often talked about, is the tremendous pressure brought to bear on learners by society. Schools’ experience with young people points to the escalating mental health issues, which is perhaps one of the greatest challenges our youngsters face and it does impact their ability to perform at their peak in a high stakes examination.”
She added that it was important for pupils to know that the world of education did not end after matric and that it was only the start of a myriad of doors and opportunities.
“There are many educational routes – not all of them necessarily need to lead to a university degree – that releases their talents and their enthusiasm to be the very best they can in a field that has captivated their interest. We need to remove this pass-rate obsessed lens of competition, so we – and they – can start to see the success of their achievement with different eyes,” said Dikgole.
SA Reserve Bank governor’s daughter, Mmabodiba Kganyago bagged eight distinctions, for subjects that include Maths, Music and Sepedi. She rejected a place at two medical schools in favour of studying actuarial science.
Meanwhile Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga is expected to release the much-anticipated National Senior Certificate (NSC) results for the Class of 2023 at about 6pm on Thursday at the Mosaiek Church in Randburg.
The 2023 Matric results were approved by quality assurance council Umalusi this week after it found there were no irregularities that would compromise the credibility or integrity of the examination results.
The Matric results will show if the class of 2023 has improved from their 2022 counterparts.
In 2022 the overall Matric pass rate was recorded at 80.1% – an improvement of 3.7% from the pass rate achieved by the Class of 2021.