Education in KwaZulu-Natal continues to improve with the latest Grade 12 results showing that the province registered yet another increase in the pass rate.
The 2023 Grade 12 results show that the province registered another impressive rise in the pass rate to an all-time high of 86.4%, an increase of 3.4% from 2022.
Last year it recorded one of the biggest jumps, going from 76% the previous year to 83%.
Nationally, the 2023 NSC overall pass rate was 82.9%, up from 80.1% in 2022, and 76.4% in 2021.
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga congratulated the matric Class of 2023 on Thursday for defying the odds and making the country proud in spite of the many challenges they faced.
She noted that for the past 10 years, the NSC pass rate has consistently been going up from 60% in 2009 to above 80% pass rates in recent years.
The number of candidates qualifying for admission to Bachelor studies at universities was 282 894 which represented 40.9% of the total number of candidates who wrote the exams.
KZN and Gauteng contributed the most Bachelor passes.
In addition, a total of 253 807 distinctions were achieved. The main contributors towards passes with distinctions were KZN, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Limpopo.
“It is remarkable to note that the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo – the three most rural provinces in the country, produced 50.9% of the total Bachelor passes. In addition, these three most rural provinces produced 59% of the total passes with distinction,” the minister said.
Speaking on KZN’s results, education experts said that the good performance was not a surprise and more could have been achieved if the province had not been hit by natural disasters.
Professor Gezani Baloyi of the University of South Africa’s education department said it was not surprising that KZN had performed well and contributed to the increase in the national pass rate.
He said KZN appeared to have developed what he termed a formula for success.
“Remember that last year, KwaZulu-Natal was one of the provinces that had performed very well, so it is not surprising that they had done so again.”
He said the province seemed to have a good commitment to teaching and learning and was using mediums such as community radio for teaching and learning purposes.
He said the province could have done even better were it not for the natural disasters that had caused disruptions to schooling and damage to schools.
Professor Labby Ramrathan, of the School of Education Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the improvement in the pass rate in KZN called for celebrations.
“It shows that something is happening in KwaZulu-Natal that is improving the results.”
He attributed the increase in the pass rate to pupils taking responsibility for their learning and teachers providing a lot of support.
“If pupils only rely on what is happening in the classroom, you are not going to do well,” he said. It was clear that more pupils were investing time in self study, he added.
He said the lessons the province had learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic had helped it to navigate the natural disasters that had affected it. This mitigated the impact of these events on education outcomes.
Professor Mbulu Madiba, dean of the Faculty of Education at Stellenbosch University, said KZN’s performance was remarkable considering the devastation and loss of learning time caused by natural disasters. He said “overall we are expecting a slight improvement nationally, this class is one that really had time to learn and catch up post Covid-19”.
Motshekga, who hosted more than 30 top achievers from across the country at a breakfast event held at the MTN Innovation Centre, in Gauteng, on Thursday, said the Class of 2023 had to endure Covid-19 interruptions and showed agility and fortitude, demonstrating that excellence was achievable even in the face of adversity.
“The high-quality passes we have achieved this year, especially the record number of Bachelor and diploma passes, as well as passes with distinction; the fact that none of our provinces are performing at pass rates lower than 75%; the fact that our “no fee” schools have contributed more than 65% of our Bachelor passes, are an indisputable testimony that ours, is indeed a system on the rise.”
The Mercury