Statement of the ANC on the 2016 National Senior Certificate Results Announcement
4 January 2016
The African National Congress congratulates the Matric Class of 2016, the Department of Basic Education and all social partners on the attainment of a 76.2% pass rate in the 2016 National Senior Certificate Examination. This result excludes progressed learners and is an increase from the 2015 pass rate of 74%; with several provinces showing marked improvements from the results attained last year.
We send a special commendation to the province of the Free State, which is the best preforming province in 2016, attaining an astounding and impressive pass rate of 93.2%. This achievement is no small feat, especially for a largely rural province, with continues to struggle with disparities in terms of resources, skills and prevailing socio-economic challenges.
Whilst there have been some notable improvements in KwaZulu-Natal in particular, this province together with the Eastern Cape and Limpopo constitutes almost 60% of all candidates for the National Senior Certificate. The ANC therefore welcomes the commitment by the Department of Basic Education to pay particular attention to the education outputs in these provinces. The Eastern Cape, in particular, deserves special mention and it is our hope that with dedicated attention and support, the province will continue to post improvement in its education outcomes and turn the tide on its performance in this area.
The National Senior Certificate results are testament to the continuing successes of the ANC-led government’s policies to truly open the doors of learning ensuring access, inclusiveness, redress, equity and quality in the education system. That the Class of 2016 has the highest number of enrolments in the history of South Africa’s basic education system is undisputable evidence that the ANC continues to put and keep in school more children than any other government in the history of South Africa.
The increase in the number of Africans passing Mathematics and Science as well as the increase in the number of Bachelors’ passes are reflective of improved quality in the learning outcomes. We also commend interventions by government to provide dedicated support to learners to improve learner retention rates and mitigate against high drop out rates. The ANC urges those learners who may not have been successful in this year’s assessment to embrace the opportunities offered for remedial actions and second chances.
The ANC attributes this year’s achievements to the collaborative approach adopted by government to include the private sector, civil society, governing bodies, the educators, parents and learners in the quest to improve learning outcomes. We encourage continued investment in this area by all social partners with its noble objective of developing a pool of productive forces for our economy and our country.
Statement issued by Zizi Kodwa, ANC National Spokesperson, 4 January 2016
