JET Education Services wishes to congratulate the matriculants of 2023. The matric class of 2023 recorded the highest pass rate in South Africa since the dawn of democracy with 82.9%, an overall increase of 2.8% from the 2022 results. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga made the announcement at the official release of the 2023 national senior certificate on Thursday evening, the 18th of January 2024. “The class of 2023 showed the greatest determination, fortitude, and resolve to overcome all odds," said Motshekga.
"In 2012, there were approximately 1.2 million students in Grade 1. Fast forward to 2023, and we see a notable decline, with only 740,566 learners enrolling for the final Grade 12 examination. It is noteworthy that 64.5% of the subjects were assessed based on raw marks. The Class of 2023 has achieved the highest matric pass rate, bachelor pass rate, and number of distinctions since the advent of democracy, setting new records. These results also indicate a positive trend in reducing educational inequality among quintile 1 to 5 schools when comparing provinces. The data suggests a promising trajectory, and if we maintain this momentum, there is a hopeful prospect of all provinces surpassing the 80% mark in the next two years.” - comments Daniel Mashilo, Senior Statistician at JET.
Some important highlights:
In 2023, a total of 897,775 matric students registered for the exams, with 80% (715,719) being full-time candidates. The actual number of candidates who wrote the exams was 691,690.
In the class of 2023, 40.9% of students attained a bachelor's pass, 27.2% achieved a diploma pass, and 14.8% secured a higher certificate pass.
Department of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga noted that all provinces demonstrated improvement, with the results inclusive of progressed learners.
Source: Department of Basic Education
