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Edwin Naidu
South Africa celebrated its highest National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate of 82.9% since the examinations began in 2008 as the Class of 2023 triumphed against COVID-19 pandemic.
But fact that around a third of youth do not successfully complete twelve years of education, leaving the education system without a formal qualification with which to join the labour market, is a concern that is often raised, according to the 2023 Exam Results Technical Report. Annually, it has been estimated that at least 300 000 matriculants join the ranks of unemployed.
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga told matriculants, parents, national and provincial education leaders that the class of 2023 was severely impacted by the disruption to schooling due to the Covid -19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The full Grade 9 and Grade 10 curricula could not be covered in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The latter part of the Grade 11 year can be considered closest to an ordinary academic year, as all learners returned to full schooling in 2022. The DBE attempted to establish the potential of this cohort compared to previous cohorts and to ensure that learner support programmes are tailored to meet their needs.
As a result, Learner support from 2021 to 2023 at national and provincial levels, was customised to mitigate reduced contact time and to address learning gaps and learning losses. These support programmes further attempted to improve learner performance across the system.
A total of 715 719 full time (FT) and 182 056 part time (PT) candidates respectively registered to sit for the October/ 2023 NSC examinations. But 897 775 candidates wrote the examination.
“The Class of 2023 was subjected to unusual and adverse learning conditions during their Grade 9 and Grade 10 academic years in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The cumulative effect of COVID-19 and the resultant learning losses and disengagement from education had a significant impact on this cohort,” said Motshekga.
The pandemic has affected schooling, including Grade 12 results, through three key factors:
declines in learner attendance during the pandemic;
declines in the availability of teachers due to illness and death;
and pandemic-related household traumas.
These effects, in turn, impacted negatively on what learners could learn.
The national pass rate for the Class of 2023 is 82.9% which is an increase of 2.8% from the 80.1% in 2022. Significant improvements in performance have been recorded in all subjects,
except a few. In the table below which represents the subjects with high enrolment, an improvement is noted in all subjects except History and Mathematical Literacy.
The National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination is in its sixteenth year of implementation in its current format and structure, and 2023 signifies 28 years of successful administration of public examinations in South Africa.
Motshekga was pleased to announce that an increase in admission to Bachelor studies, at 5,0% a year for the entire 1994 to 2023 period, has been the strongest. Youths qualifying annually for entry into a bachelor’s programme at a university has increased from around 100 000 in 1994, to over 250 000 in the last three years.
But there was no doubt that the pandemic has affected schooling, including Grade 12 results, through three key factors: declines in learner attendance during the pandemic; declines in the availability of teachers due to illness and death; and pandemic-related household traumas. These effects, in turn, impacted negatively on what learners could learn.
The Minister praised the swift and collaborative responses of the Department of Basic Education (DBE), teachers, parents, our partners in education and South Africans at large, which led to the development of a holistic recovery plan that, to a large degree, mitigated the negative impact of the achievement of the key learning milestones.
“The father of our great nation, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, believed that “Educating all our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves your chances of building better lives”, she said.
“These words resonate with the 2023 State of the Nation Address when the President of the Republic of South Africa, the Honourable Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, highlighted that “the performance of learners from poorer schools is steadily improving, confirming the value of the support that Government provides to them”. The President coined the improvement in Grade 12 results as “a silent revolution taking place in our schools”,” she added.
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