It’s 38.9%, not 81.3%: DA disputes the matric pass rate due to dropouts
While many have hailed what is reportedly the highest pass rate since 1994, the official opposition says it's not all sunshine and roses.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. Picture: GCIS
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has released a statement disputing the official pass rate as put forward by Angie Motshekga and the department of education.
According to the party, the real pass rate is 38.9%, not 81.3%, if the dropout rate is taken into account.
A table shows what the party says the real stats are regarding matric results, factoring in this dropout rate. The party has taken the amount of students enrolled in grade 10 in 2017 and compared it to the amount who wrote matric in 2019.
“1,052,080 learners were enrolled in grade 10, yet only 409,906 learners eventually passed matric last year. This means only 38.9% of grade 10 learners actually wrote and passed matric,” said DA MP Nomsa Marchesi.
The DA’s statistics regarding the 2019 pass rate. Picture: Screenshot.
“For years now, the DBE punts the national pass rate because it shifts the focus from their perpetual failures as an ANC government,” Marchesi suggested.
“The slow poison of dropout rates between grades 10 and 12 is eating away at the future of the youth of this country.
“Since 2015, which saw the highest number of pupils who sat to write their matric exam, there has been a steady decline each year. This should be a real and urgent concern for the DBE.
“A further concern is the shocking pass rate from June results of the Multi Examination Opportunity (MEO) – only a disappointing 7.1% passed.
“Nevertheless, however dismal this percentage is, it is used to inflate the pass rate and when phased out this year, the high dropout rates will inevitably increase. Only then will we see the real performance of the department.”
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)
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