2020 matric results: Waterberg on top in Limpopo

LIMPOPO – Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga announced a pass rate of 76,2% when she delivered the matric pass rate for the class of 2020 on Monday, 22 February. The pass rate is a decline of 5,1% from last year.

All provinces achieved a pass rate of more than 60%, with Free State taking top spot as the best-performing province. Limpopo achieved the third lowest with 68,2%, with Waterberg district 2 the best performing district in the province with a pass rate of 77,5%.

District level performance #MatricResults2020 pic.twitter.com/hAD1cGIrW8

— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) February 22, 2021

In a statement, the minister commended the class of 2020 for maintaining the trend of a national pass rate above 70%. She said the high quality passes achieved this year, especially the number of bachelor and diploma passes, the overall pass mark, and the passes with distinctions, even in critical subjects, are the hallmarks of the performance of the class of 2020.

Dept of Basic Education Director-General, Mathanzima Hubert Mweli: 339 628 girls compared to 267 598 boys entered the NSC examination (72 030 more girls that boys). 244 530 girls, compared to 196 172 boys passed the 2020 NSC examinations #MatricResults2020

— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) February 22, 2021

She added that a total of 578 468 full-time candidates sat for the  2020 NSC examinations and the pass rate represents a record of 440 702 passes – an increase of 7,5% in the number of passes from 2019. “Without the progressed learners, the overall pass rate stands at 81,2%; a 1,1% decline from 2019. Further analyses of the 2020 NSC exam results, with the progressed learners included, show that the number of candidates who qualify for admission to bachelor studies is 210 820; an improvement of 13,3% from 2019. They represent 36.4% of the total number of candidates who wrote the 2020 NSC exams,” the minister explained.

A total of 150 600 candidates achieved diploma passes, which represents 26% of the total number of candidates who wrote the 2020 NSC exams. The amount of learners who achieved higher certificate passes is 79 117, which represents 13,7% of the total number of candidates who wrote the 2020 NSC exams.

There were 177 435 distinctions achieved of which the main contributors were learners from KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo.

Provincial performance:

1. Free State: 85,1%
2. Gauteng 83,3%
3. Western Cape 79,9%
4. KwaZulu Natal 77,6%
5. North West 76,2
6. Mpumalanga 73,7%
7. Limpopo 68,2%
8. Eastern Cape 68,1%
9. Northern Cape 66%

Motshekga added that the year 2020 will be remembered as the year the entire world was engulfed by the Covid-19 pandemic.  “The decrease in performance is notably sharper in provinces that have a significant rural constituency and is less pronounced in provinces with more urban settings. This may be ascribed to the Covid-19 pandemic conditions having a greater impact on schooling in rural areas and their constrained ability to re-organise and regain lost learning time due to school closures, learner absenteeism, teacher well-being, and access to resources.”

“The achievement of the class of 2020 should be acknowledged with due respect to the fallen heroes of education sector. In the past year, the sad loss of teachers and officials who succumbed to the pandemic has robbed learners, families, the education sector and society of a multitude of individual talents, skills, dedication, and commitment that served generations of South African children from early learning to adolescence. The contribution of these “soldiers of learning”, many of whom invested into the achievements of the class of 2020 will be forever remembered. In light of this I thank parents, teachers, principals, teacher unions, communities, district and provincial officials, and social partners for supporting the Class of 2020.

Government worked hard to strike a balance between saving lives and the academic year, she concluded.