Cape Town - Exceptional Western Cape matriculants were among 39 top achievers celebrated at Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube’s Breakfast in Johannesburg, where they were recognised for their accomplishments and hard work.
Gwarube on Monday announced a national pass rate of 87.3% for the Class of 2024 - the highest in the history of the country. She thanked all those involved in the NSC's success.
“In the Basic Education sector we currently have 13.5 million learners with over 740 000 of those in independent schools. We have over 460 000 educators who are responsible for educating the next generation of leaders. And to them we all owe a debt of gratitude,” said Gwarube.
Among the learners was Rayyan Ebrahim from Pinelands High School, and Nicholas Schreiber from Rondebosch Boys’ High School.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) revealed that a total of 1 060 852 candidates participated in the 2024 end-of-year examinations, with 832 993 candidates or 78.5% participating in the National Senior Certificate (NSC), which is distributed across the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) and South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI), nationally.
@capeargus_news Meet Rayyan Ebrahim, Western Cape top achiever, who achieved 95% for Further Studies in Mathematics, including 99% for Algebra. In Tuesday’s Cape Argus, Rayyan shares his excitement for the future and how he reached this incredible milestone. Get the full story on IOL/capeargus #matric2024 #classof2024 #westernCape ♬ The Champion - Lux-Inspira
In the Western Cape, a total of 75 647 candidates wrote their NSC.
Of these 64 375 were full-time candidates while 11 272 were part-time.
The Department of Social Development also revealed 697 502 learners were social grant beneficiaries.
The learners faced the global Covid-19 pandemic when they started their high school career in Grade 8 in 2020, and faced challenges due to load shedding.
According to Pinelands High School, via their Facebook page, they shared that Ebrahim received 95% for his Further Studies Mathematics (IEB) including 99% for Algebra.
“Covid-19 and load shedding were the main challenges that I faced during my high school journey. “I had to adapt, get up earlier some days for extra study sessions. I had to rely on digital resources due to Covid-19.
“Next year I plan on studying Data Science, which combines maths, computer science and business knowledge, to solve real world problems, which I am excited for because it is so relevant to South Africa’s needs,” Ebrahim said as he shared his challenges during his schooling career.
Schreiber said he was keen to pursue a career in accounting and that he had succeeded due to a strong support system.
“It feels amazing to be here and it is a big privilege,” he said.
“I have come from such an amazing school, I’ve not had a lot of obstacles to overcome. I’ve had such a great foundation from my teachers, my parents and fellow students.
“The entire year has been amazing.
“I am intending on studying further at the University of Cape Town as I am looking forward to being a chartered accountant.”
Jordan said the main challenges he faced was communication and that he was keen to pursue a career in IT at a tertiary institution in Pretoria.
As the breakfast kicked-off, Gwarube asked that the integrity of the results not be affected by a possible leak of the results and revealed that the Hawks had been roped into the investigation.
She said NSC results were being sold via a website for R100 and added if her staff were at fault, that they were also to be investigated.
“It became clear to us about 48 hours ago that there is a potential breach in our information. I need to clarify there are multiple steps in putting out matric results,” she said.
Hubert Mathanzima Mweli, DBE Director-General, revealed that the Bachelor’s pass and Diplomas had increased over the years, since 2021, with girls leading the way. He said over 5 000 schools nationally received between 80 to 100% pass rate.
He added the Class of 2024 has faced challenges, such as inclement weather, load shedding, heatwaves and water shortages.
He revealed that 24 000 schools, which included public and independent schools, participated nationally in the exams.
Associate Professor Luiza De Sousa, who heads CPUT’s Senior Phase and Further Education Studies Department within the Faculty of Education, said the Matric Class of 2024 has much to be optimistic about.
“I am confident in the regulatory standards in place to ensure the integrity of the Matric results. So I would say the results will be a reflection of the current situation in schools and the effort put in by the learners.”