At 76.4%, 2021 Matric Results Beat Covid-19 Odds
Class of 2021 matriculants defy Covid-19 odds and notch up 76.4% pass rate, just a touch from the previous year.
Thursday | January 20, 2022
The delays in releasing the Grade 12 final results of the 2021 cohort added to anxiety of many a parent as to what could go wrong being in the clutches of Coronavirus disruption to the academic calendar. Add to that the lost examination scripts during the marking period. When the Department of Basic Education) DBE) final results on Jan. 20, 2022, it was not the outcome everybody expected. But acceptable nonetheless.
The matriculants for the 2021 achieved a 76.4% pass rate in National Senior Certificate (NSC). The pass rate dipped by 0,2% in comparison to the 76.6% achieved nationally in the 2022 academic year.
These are results emanating from public schools nationwide.
Meanwhile the Independent Education Board (IEB) which are classified as private schools notched up a 98.39% pass rate in the NSC. Their 2020 performance was slightly lower at 98.06%.
Education pundits are full of praise for both the independent and public school given hardships precipitated by the prevailing Covid-19 blight.
The Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga could not contain her ear-to-ear smiles when she officially revealed the class of 2021 matriculants results in Johannesburg.
There were 735, 000 matriculants who sat for the 2021 national senior examination. Motshekga announced that there were 36.4% bachelor passes in 2021. Even though she was trying her utmost to find pockets of positive areas in this cohort, she appeared at pains in acknowledging that the education system still faced challenges.
Umalusi, the national quality assurance for primary and secondary education, gave the 2021 class outcomes thumbs up as far as quality standards and adherence is concerned, added the minister.
Provincial performance
The top performing province is Free State on 85.7%, just up by 0.6%, while Limpopo emerged the least performing province at 66.7% down by 1,5% from the previous year.
Pupils from these provinces and the seven others, and the public for that matter, will be able to see the Grade 12 results on different media platforms. DBE had said earlier that it was going to buck this age-old trend and shield the results due to the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) passed by parliament.
However, Afriforum, a civil society organization, launched an urgent application to prevent the Department. Ultimately, the Pretoria High Court passed judgment against the government on Jan. 18, 2022 and directed the Matric results be published in all media streams. A victory not so much for the applicant but for the presevation of a unique ritual as its commonly known and beamed once in a calendar of every year.