KwaZulu-Natal attained the second highest passing rate during the 2024 National Senior Certificate Examinations, with 89.52% – an increase from 86.4% in 2023. This was revealed by the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, during the NSC Examination results.
Gwarube expressed her delight with the national pass rate of 87.3% for the class of 2024 and praised the country’s education system. She said, “As we celebrate these remarkable results, let us remember that the success of our education system is not measured solely by statistics but by the lives transformed, the barriers broken and the futures unlocked. There is urgent and substantial work to be done to improve the quality of education outcomes that our schooling system must achieve. Let us recommit ourselves to working together to build a schooling system that leaves no learner behind and ensures that every child in South Africa has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
She added, “The improvement in performance in Mathematics is encouraging. However, the decreasing participation rates in these key subjects, and the decrease in performance in Physical Sciences, highlight the urgent need to improve foundational literacy and numeracy to ensure that our schooling system produces learners who are confident and capable enough to choose and excel in Maths and Science subjects throughout their schooling career.”
The Minister shared that:
• 615 429 candidates obtained the NSC – more than any other year in history. 337 158 learners obtained Bachelor passes, of which 67% come from Quintile 1 to 3 schools (which are typically found in our poorer communities). This marks a 6.9% increase on the number of Bachelor passes achieved in 2023 and a notable improvement in the performance of Quintile 1 to 3 schools.
• 3 321 learners with special education needs obtained Bachelor passes
• The total number of distinctions achieved increased by over 65 000 from 2023, with every province improving on the number of distinctions achieved provincially.
• 73 out of our 75 education districts achieved pass rates above 80%.
• Every province improved on its performance from 2023 and achieved a pass rate above 80%.
• Free State was the top performing province with 90.99%; followed by KZN with 89.52%; Gauteng with 88.41%; North West with 87.52%; Western Cape with 86.56%; Limpopo with 85.01%; Mpumalanga with 84.99%; Eastern Cape with 84.98%; and Northern Cape with 84.19%.
