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WENDY MOTHATA|
THE Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric class of 2021 has achieved a 98.39% pass rate, slightly higher than last year’s pass rate of 98.06%.
According to the IEB, which released the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results on Wednesday, all candidates who passed achieved a pass that is good enough to enter the tertiary study.
89.2% of the cohort achieved entry to degree study.
7.82% qualified for entry to diploma study.
1.37% achieved entry for study at the Higher Certificate level,
According to a media statement, 12 857 full-time and 968 part-time candidates from 238 examination centres writing in 267 venues across Southern Africa wrote IEB NSC examinations in 2021.
The IEB said that there has been an increase in the number of matric learners who sat down for the exams.
“This is an increase from 2020 when there were 12 024 full-time candidates and 1139 part-time candidates, and from 2019 when there were 11 818 full-time candidates and 779 part-time candidates.”
CEO of IEB Anne Oberholzer has commanded the matric class 2021 for their outstanding results.
She said the learners were ‘true victims’ of COVID-19.
“As with an iceberg, the achievement we see in the class of 2021 hides the depth of the struggle and effort that underpins this success. These Grade 12 learners were the true victims of COVID-19,” she said.
The Class of 2021 has had to dig deep mentally and emotionally to find the strength to face the tremendous challenges of the radically changed teaching and learning environment of the last two years. They truly deserve the accolades they receive.”
Outlining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the NSC learners of 2021, Oberholzer said grade 11 is spent primarily on ensuring that learners have a firm grasp and full understanding of key concepts and content in their respective subjects of study.
She said that the first term of Grade 12 is usually spent on completion of the curriculum and for the rest of the year, learners are exposed to applications of the concepts and content.
“A significant amount of time is spent on perfection of examination techniques, like judgement of time, or what to do should you come across a question that you don’t know how to answer. Finally, there is substantial revision to provide students with sufficient exposure to a variety of assessment approaches and hence opportunities to prepare for the final examinations,” she added.
Oberholzer further said that the journey for Grade 12 candidates of 2021 was different.
“The journey for Grade 12 candidates of 2021 was somewhat different with school closures from as early as March 2020 and then sporadically throughout the year, continuing right through their Grade 12 year. They experienced disruptive change of an unprecedented nature within a relatively short space of time,” she said.
Leaners who want to apply for remarking can do so before 28 January 2022 and the results from re-marking will be released on 15 March 2022.
Meanwhile, the closing date for learners who qualify to enroll for the May/June examination is 30 March 2022.
* Inside Education