The South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) has announced a significant milestone for the Class of 2024, achieving a national matric pass rate of 87.3%. This marks a substantial increase of 4.4% compared to the previous year's 82.9%, setting a new benchmark for educational success in the country.
A key highlight of this year's results is the remarkable surge in Bachelor Passes. A total of 47.8% of matriculants qualified for university entrance, a significant leap from the 40% achieved in 2023. This represents the highest number of Bachelor Passes in recent history, with a notable 67% of these passes originating from disadvantaged communities.
Kwazulu-Natal led the way with the highest number of Bachelor Passes, exceeding 84,000. Gauteng followed closely with over 66,000, and the Eastern Cape achieved over 45,000 Bachelor Passes.
While the Free State consistently maintains its position as the top-performing province with a 91% pass rate, all provinces demonstrated commendable progress.
At a provincial level, I’m pleased to announce that every province improved on it’s performance from 2023 and every province has achieved above 84% pass rate.
Provincial Matric Pass Rates
- Western Cape: 86.6%
- Gauteng: 88.4%
- Limpopo: 85.1%
- Eastern Cape: 84.98%
- Kwazulu-Natal: 89.5%
- North West: 87.5%
- Northern Cape: 84.2%
- Mpumalanga: 84.9%
- Free State: 91%
The 2024 matric examinations commenced on October 21st and concluded on November 28th.
A total of 832,993 public school candidates sat for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams across 150 subjects.
The Class of 2024 faced the unique challenge of navigating their high school journey amidst the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister Gwarube commended the class for their resilience and dedication in achieving these outstanding results.
The Matric Class of 2024 has faced immense challenges, from Covid-19 that disrupted their learning to the evolving budget pressures being felt by various provincial departments and schools to social ills. Despite these challenges, we have seen the highest rate of learners enrolled for grade 12 since the start of Covid-19.
School Performance Report 2024
While the Minister highlighted provincial results and recognized top-performing learners in each subject and quintile, the detailed performance of individual schools will be available in the forthcoming School Performance Report.
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Matriculants can eagerly anticipate receiving their results tomorrow, 14 January. Results will be available from 10:00 AM at their respective exam centers and can also be accessed online through the Department of Basic Education website.
IEB Results
The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) also announced its results, with a 98.47% pass rate for the Class of 2024.
A total of 16,304 learners, including 14,990 full-time and 1,314 part-time candidates, wrote the IEB exams at 275 centers across the country.