The matric pass rate for 2020 (released earlier this week) showed a slight decline compared to 2019, with 76.2% of those who wrote passing, compared to 81.3% in 2019.
The proportion of those who wrote the government examinations and passed well enough to be admitted to university was 36.4%, a slight decline from the 36.9% recorded in 2019.
The minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, said that she had expected the results to be a ‘bloodbath’ because of the difficulties faced by teachers and learners in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and described herself as ‘very happy’ with the results.
The Free State was the province with the highest pass rate with 85.1%, the second year in a row it topped the table. Gauteng was second with 83.8% and the Western Cape third, recording a pass rate of 79.9%.
The Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and Northern Cape were the only provinces with pass rates of below 70%, with the Northern Cape securing the wooden spoon, with a pass rate of only 66%.
Gauteng had the highest proportion of those who passed well enough to be admitted to university at 45.1%, followed by the Western Cape and the Free State. The Northern Cape once again won the wooden spoon, with 28.4% of its Class of 2020 gaining a bachelor’s pass.
However, there have been concerns over this year’s matric results. Jonathan Jansen, an education analyst and former president of the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), writing in TimesLive, said there were serious concerns about political interference in results, as well as concerns over leniency in how learners were assessed.
Other concerns were raised over the relatively small proportion of learners who passed with high marks, with just over a third of learners passing mathematics with a mark of above 40%. Other subjects such as physical sciences and life sciences had similar rates for those passing at above 40%.
IRR analysts have for some time pointed out that there are questions around the quality of matric as well as noting the very large drop in the number of people who start school and then pass matric 12 years later.
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