Class of 2022 records 80.1% pass rate
The Matric Class of 2022 has scored a remarkable 80.1% pass rate, despite being the group that was mostly hit by the “devastating” effects of COVID-19, July 2021 unrests and load shedding.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s announcement of an overall improved pass rate at the Mosaïek Church in Fairlands, Gauteng, on Thursday (January 19), was met with applause.
The National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate is slightly higher than the 76.4% recorded in 2021, an increase of 3.7% compared to the previous year.
Motshekga noted that this cohort was exposed to the pandemic for two consecutive years when they were in Grade 10 in 2020 and Grade 11 in 2021.
“The Class of 2022 is the first cohort to write the NSC exams, post the pandemic. Exacerbating the devastation caused by the pandemic, this class was subjected to the challenges of enervating load shedding and sporadic service delivery protests.”
However, she noted that despite the challenges, the learners managed to bag high-quality passes and distinctions.
Motshekga said 725 146 pupils sat for their exams across the country, with 278 814 achieving Bachelor passes, an improvement of 8.9% from 2021.
In addition, 193 357 learners qualified to study towards a Diploma, 108 159 achieved higher certificate passes and 117 achieved plain NSC passes.
“By the way, the 2022 Bachelor passes in number are the highest attained in the entire history of the NSC examinations; but the second highest to that attained in 2021 when expressed as a percentage,” the Minister said.
Provincial breakdown
The Minister singled out KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, the two provinces that contributed the most Bachelor passes, with 69 849 (an increase of 12.9% from 2021) and 58 119 (an increase of 4.1% from 2021), respectively.
In addition, Free State was once again named the best-performing province, with an 88.5% pass rate, when the Minister announced the much-awaited Matric results.
“We should state that none of the provinces performed below the 70% pass rate; and none had a decline when their 2022 results are compared with those of the previous year,” Motshekga said.
In addition, she said five provinces performed above the 70% pass rate, while four achieved over 80%.
The provinces with the highest improvements in their performances are KwaZulu-Natal with a 6.2% improvement, Limpopo with 5.3%, and the Eastern Cape with 4.2%.
