The exemplary Diamonds of Danville Park Girls High School are shining brighter than ever after excelling in their National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations with a stellar 100% pass rate.
The Class of 2022, with their dedication and drive, not only achieved a 94.8% bachelor pass but also propelled their school to keep up with their remarkable streak of a full house pass rate for 29 consecutive years. “This is a testimony to the hard work by both learners and educators, supported by the parents. Well done ladies! Your Danville family is very proud of you,” said the school management.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube also heaped praise on the Matric Class of 2022. Speaking during the announcement of the KwaZulu-Natal’s matric results at Bethsaida International Ministries in Southgate on Friday, 20 January, Premier Dube-Ncube expressed her excitement at the incredible performance of female candidates. “Girl learners obtained an overall pass percentage of 83.6% while the boy learners obtained 82.3%. We will continue to intervene to ensure that female learners have equal opportunities of success like male learners,” she said.
The bright-eyed schoolgirls topped the Class of 2022, with Al Falah’s Husnaa Haffejee claiming joint first position in the country with Western Cape’s Kelly Prowse. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, was overwhelmed by the impressive outcome of the Class of 2022 results which sit at 80.1% nationally with KZN showing the greatest of improvements with a jump of over 6% to reach a 83% pass mark. The minister singled out the girl-child candidates who collectively performed exceptionally higher than their schoolboy counterparts in the gender stakes. In a gender aggregation, a total of 92 951 more girls than boys had enrolled, an improvement of 20.3% from 2021 and a step upwards of 89 334 more girl candidates who wrote the exams in 2022. Altogether, there 326 894 girls – an improvement by 10% from 2021; and 253 661 boys – an improvement of 5.4% from 2021 who passed the 2022 examinations – translating into 80.2% girls and 79.8% boys passing the latest cohort of the Class of 2022.
Female candidates excelled as the high achieving performers in bachelor passes, with 161 235 obtaining university entrance passes, an improvement of 10.3% from 2021; followed closely 117 579 male candidates, an improvement by 7.0% since 2021. Altogether, the minister reeled out that 59 697 more female candidates achieved bachelor and diploma passes as compared to their male counterparts who would be eligible for studies at higher education institutions, an improved outcome of 64,5% since 2021. Of the total of 219 597 distinctions, 65% of the female candidates ranked higher, including passes with distinction in critical subjects like Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, Mathematics, and Physical Science.
In welcoming the historic pass rate for KZN, the MEC for Education Mbali Frazer confirmed that out of the 164 308 learners who wrote the NSC exams, 136 388 of them passed. She said: “After recording a 76.8% pass rate in 2021, we are thrilled to report that KwaZulu-Natal has re-joined the league of sister provinces that are in the 80% bracket. The Class of 2022 has done us very proud by achieving a historic 83% pass rate. Their success is a shining demonstration of the commitment of the KZN Department of Education to the vision of being an innovative hub for quality teaching and learning that produces learners developed to exploit opportunities for lifelong success.”
The number of schools that obtained 100% pass rate also increased significantly from 145 in 2021 to 212 in KZN. The Class of 2022 was also able to reduce the number of schools that performed below 75% from 713 in 2021 to 435 and no school in this province obtained a 0% pass rate. “The quality of our results is indicative of the sterling work of our district teams and educators as well as the dedication of our learners to their academic work. Our bachelor passes have increased from 61 856 in 2021 to 69 849 in 2022. There’s also been an increase in the number of diploma passes from 42 128 in 2021 to 43 908 in 2022. The number of higher certificates decreased from 23 945 in 2021 to 22 560 in 2022,” MEC Frazer said.
She added: “We once again wish to congratulate the Class of 2022 for setting the bar very high for this year’s cohort. As they exit the schooling system, I wish to say to them – there is no limit to what you can achieve if you put your mind to it and work hard to achieve it. Education is your passport to the future so go out there and make your dreams a reality,” added MEC Frazer.
