Western Cape Highest Bachelor Pass Rate, Matric Results Show

 

Photo via Western Cape Department of Education

The minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga, announced the 2021 Matric results yesterday. The country received a national pass rate of 76.4 percent, which is 0.2 percent higher than in 2020.

Students throughout the country headed back to the classroom this week to return to their studies following festive season break, after last night, they now know what they will be aspiring toward.

Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga announced an improved pass rate from the previous year. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, students around the country showed steadfast dedication to their studies.

The results show more than 256,000 students received a bachelor’s pass meaning they will be able to enter one of the country’s universities. Motshekga said the accomplishments of this year’s class were inspiring because of the changes they had to endure.

Students improved in all categories this year with improvements in the bachelor’s passes, diploma passes and high certificate passes. The country also saw a major increase in the number of students who took their exams. That number increased by 23.6 percent from the previous year.

Motshekga also called out the commitment of the basic education department to providing inclusive curriculum for special education learners. This year saw more than 80 percent of those students pass.

More than 800 special needs students received bachelor’s passes for this term.

While student success nationally was encouraging, even more impressive were the statistics for learners here in the Western Cape.

The Western Cape saw 81.2 percent of its learners pass, which was 5 points higher than the national average. Brent Walters is the western cape head of education. He said the class of 2021 exceeded his expectations.

The pass rate from the class of 2021 was a 1.3 percent improvement from the previous year. The Western Cape also had the highest bachelor pass rate in the country at 45.3 percent. Western Cape minister of education Debbie Schafer said these learners deserve to be celebrated.

Schafer said this class has paved the way for future successes and created big shoes to fill for the class of 2022.

In her announcement last night, Motshekga also recognized no fee schools for their stellar achievements. In 2005, just 20 percent of bachelor’s degrees came from no fee schools. This year, more than 60 percent of bachelor’s degrees were from no fee schools.

While figures about special needs education and no fee school results show progress when it comes to equity, Motshekga said the country still has a long way to go. She said the country needs to make a further effort to improve female participation in education, access to schools and lifting up struggling learners.

The minister said those challenges will be a main focus of next year’s class, but for now there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about the future.

By Ben Rappaport