DESPITE the disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people, South Africa’s official matric pass rate for 2021 is 76.4%, a marginal increase from the 76.2% pass rate of 2020.
This is an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the 2020 matric pass rate.
At least 256,031 learners received a Bachelor’s degree pass, and a possible entry to one of the country’s universities.
The basic education minister Angie Motshekga announced the results on Thursday in Johannesburg.
A total of 897,163 matrics registered to write the 2021 National Senior Certificate examinations, of which 733,198 were full-time candidates.
Motshekga said that 36.4% of matric students (256,031) achieved a bachelor’s pass, and 25.2% (177,572) achieved a diploma pass. 14.8% (103,859) achieved a higher certificate pass.
Only 103 (0.01%) achieved a pass without possibility of entry into any institution of higher learning.
The class of 2021 is the first to suffer the actualities of two years of the Covid-19 pandemic in succession, having studied through restrictions in Grade 11 and, to a lesser extent, Grade 12.
“It is therefore, correct to contextualise the hostile environment within which the class of 2021 sat for their 2021 National Senior Certificate examinations, an environment that none of the previous cohorts of learners were ever exposed to in the past.”
The first 2021 matric examination was written on 27 October, and students sat the final exam on 6 December.
Until recently, the publication of individual matric results was in question, with the DBE deciding it would not publish learners’ results on public platforms to avoid running afoul of the Protection of Personal Information Act.
The Information Regulator later issued a clarifying statement explaining that the DBE could continue posting results to public platforms if it first allowed learners to opt-out.
But the Pretoria High Court ruled that the DBE should publish matric results publicly, including in newspapers and online.
Umalusi approved the release of the 2021 matric examination results on Tuesday, 18 January 2022.
