Matric Results 2024: See How Schools Across South Africa Performed

The Matric Class of 2024 has set a new record with an overall pass rate of 87.3%, marking the highest matric pass rate in South Africa’s history.

During the announcement of the 2024 NSC results in Johannesburg, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube celebrated this milestone as a point of great pride and joy for the entire nation. She noted that nearly half of the examinees earned a Bachelor pass.

“I am proud to announce that in 2024, 615,429 learners passed the National Senior Certificate (NSC) – more than any other time in our history. South Africa’s national pass rate for the 2024 National Senior Certificate has therefore increased from 82.9% in 2023 to 87.3%,” said Gwarube.

Bachelor Passes

Minister Gwarube highlighted that 47.8% of candidates qualified for admission to Bachelor studies, a significant leap from last year’s 40.9%, and the highest number of Bachelor passes in recent history.

“This is a 6.9% increase from last year. In 2014, we produced 150,752 Bachelor passes. In just a decade this number has more than doubled in 2024 to 337,158 Bachelor passes. It is also encouraging to see that some of our provinces with the highest numbers of learners are achieving high numbers of Bachelor passes,” Gwarube stated.

She was particularly pleased to announce that in 2024, KwaZulu-Natal led with 84,470 Bachelor passes, followed by Gauteng with 66,979 and the Eastern Cape with 45,662. Notably, approximately 67% of these Bachelor passes originated from Quintile 1 to 3 schools, which are typically located in less affluent communities.

“This percentage represents an increase from 2023. This means that poorer communities are producing more and more candidates who can go on to become doctors, engineers, accountants, and scientists,” Gwarube said.

Distinctions

The Class of 2024 also excelled, amassing an impressive 319,651 distinctions. “This represents a significant increase of over 65,000 distinctions from last year. Some of these increases were seen in key subjects, including Mathematics. I am pleased to report that every province increased the number of distinctions achieved in 2023. KwaZulu-Natal was once more the top-performing province in terms of the percentage of candidates obtaining distinctions, with 10.8% distinction potential achieved,” highlighted the Minister.

The Western Cape followed in second place with 6.3% of distinction potential achieved, with Gauteng at 5.3%. Gwarube noted, “Notable progress was made by Mpumalanga and Limpopo in this regard where we saw this percentage increase by over 1% in 2024 when compared to the results for 2023,” Gwarube explained.

It was further highlighted that every province showed improvement from 2023, with each achieving above 84%.

Mathematics and Physical Sciences

In 2024, 69.1% of learners passed Mathematics, an increase from 63.5% in 2023. However, in Physical Sciences, while 75.6% of learners passed, this was a decrease from 76.2% in 2023.

“While the number and percentage of learners achieving distinctions in Mathematics increased in 2024 from 2023, the number and percentage of learners achieving distinctions in Physical Sciences has dropped. The improvement in performance in Mathematics is encouraging. However, the decreasing participation rates in these key subjects, and the decrease in performance in Physical Sciences, highlight the urgent need to improve foundational literacy and numeracy to ensure that our schooling system produces learners who are confident and capable enough to choose and excel in Maths and Science subjects throughout their schooling career,” the Minister said.

Improvements

In 2024, more high schools achieved a pass rate in the NSC examinations between 80% and 100% than in 2023.

“In 2023, the number of high schools achieving this was 4,493 and in 2024 this number increased to 5,387 representing 77.7% of our high schools. Also important to note is that the number of underperforming schools has decreased,” the Minister said.

Approximately 97% of learners enrolled for Grade 12 in 2024 ultimately wrote the NSC exams in 2024.

“In 2024, we saw the number of full-time candidates writing the National Senior Certificate examinations increase from 691,160 in 2023 to 705,291 in 2024. We also saw the number of learners with special education needs who wrote the National Senior Certificate examinations increase from 5,288 in 2023 to 6,470 in 2024. Furthermore, we saw 556,726 learners who are beneficiaries of social grants writing the National Senior Certificate exams in 2024 – 12,938 more than in 2023,” explained Gwarube.

She further mentioned that the 2024 National Senior Certificate results for 2024 show that the schooling system was maturing, but that there was still much work to be done to improve the quality of education outcomes.

Independent Examinations Board (IEB) Results

Moreover, when looking at private schools in the country, the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) achieved an overall pass rate of 98.47% in the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, the highest pass rate recorded in the past five years. According to the IEB, all candidates who successfully completed the 2024 IEB NSC examinations obtained a pass that qualifies them for tertiary study at one of three levels, plus those who attained an endorsed certificate:

·         89.37% of the cohort achieved entry to degree study, compared to 88.59% in 2023.

·         7.56% qualified for entry to diploma study, compared to 8.31% in 2023.

·         1.53% achieved entry for study at the Higher Certificate level, compared to 1.57% in 2023.

·         0.02% achieved an endorsed certificate.

The IEB explained that 14,990 full-time and 1,314 part-time candidates wrote the IEB NSC Examinations from October 2024 to November 2024 at 274 examination venues. According to the IEB, this is more than 13,967 full-time candidates and 1,213 part-time candidates in 2023.

“The increase of 1,124 comprises 292 candidates from nine new schools that wrote the IEB examinations for the first time in 2024. The balance of 832 comes from schools that have been writing IEB NSC Examinations for years. Both these figures speak to the significant growth that the IEB continues to witness,” said the IEB in a statement.

To view the list of top achievers for the 2024 IEB Outstanding Achievements, click here.

To view the list of the top achievers for the 2024 IEB Commendable Achievements, click here.

Notable Public School Achievements in KwaZulu-Natal

When looking at some of the best-performing public schools in KwaZulu-Natal, the following notable achievements were highlighted:

·         Ferrum High School obtained a 100% pass rate.

·         Mount Edgecombe Private School secured a 100% pass rate.

·         Enzimane Combined School obtained a 100% pass rate.

·         Dannhauser Secondary School secured a 100% pass rate.

·         Inizuluwazi Secondary School obtained a pass rate of 100%.

·         Westville Girls’ High School saw its learners secure a 100% pass rate.

·         Bluff Christian Academy saw a 100% pass rate.

To view all the schools’ across the country’s pass rate, click here.

It should be further highlighted that the Amajuba District, which encompasses Newcastle, Utrecht and Dannhauser, saw an 89.8% pass rate. The uThukela District, which encompasses Okhahlamba, Ladysmith and Estcourt, secured an 85% pass rate. The uMzinyathi District, which consists of Dundee, Nquthu, Msinga and Umvoti, obtained a pass rate of 89.1%.

As the Class of 2024 now prepares to embark on a new journey into the world, Newcastillian News congratulates all the Matriculants on their results and wishes them all the best for the future.

What are your thoughts on the above? Share your views in the comment section below.

Be sure to click here to read At a Crossroads: The State of South Africa’s Education System.”