The REAL matric pass rate is 51%

21 January 2022

Note to Editors: Please find an attached soundbite and video link by Baxolile ‘Bax’ Nodada MP

The DA can reveal that the real matric pass rate for 2021 is 51.4%. The Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga announced the results of the NSC matric examinations last night.

The results do not however take into consideration the high dropout rate. This year, the dropout rate of learners between grade 10 to 12 is 32.7% (or 341 403 learners). See the dropout rates per province here.

The two provinces with the lowest dropout rates are Mpumalanga, with a dropout rate of 25.5% and the Western Cape, with a dropout rate of 29.7%.

The Free State got the highest percentage pass rate sitting at 85.7%. However, it is the province that is experiencing the highest number of learners dropping out which is 42.5% (25 882 learners). The province with the highest learner dropouts is the Northern Cape with 44.7% of learners that were enrolled in grade 10 in 2019 (10 297 learners).

When looking at the DA run Western Cape, the province came out on top with achieving the greatest number of bachelors passes, which was 45.3% of those that wrote. The province with the lowest number of bachelor passes was Limpopo, receiving 29.7% of bachelors achieved.

The Minister must stop whitewashing the matric results in an attempt to mask the systematic failures of her department but rather implement innovative school retention strategies, do away with the rotational timetables, track learners who drop out, place a focus on improving the quality of teaching and accelerate the development of a curriculum that is relevant to the country's economy. It is time to put our learners first and adequately prepare them for their future.

Issued by Bax Nodada, DA Shadow Minister of Basic Education, 21 January 2022