And the results are in; Wester

And the results are in; Western Cape matrics excel, only province to improve pass rate

The Western Cape’s minister of education seems to have been spot on in her prediction and every student that passed in the province has done so with access to higher education… pretty neat!

And the results are in; Wester

The Province has achieved a pass rate of 84.7%, up 2.5% from last year and making it the only province in South Africa to have improved its pass rate from last year; a trend that, according to minister Schafer, is a “concerning development for our country.”

“Given the many challenges our education system faces, improving the quality of education can only be possible through sustained interventions in our schools, and the hard work of the matrics, their teachers and district officials,” she said.

“We are grateful that the many hours of hard work and planning put in over the last few years since coming to office is starting to bear fruit.”

“We have always maintained that the true indicators of quality education go beyond the overall pass rate.”

Earlier this week the minister mention that a great pass rate alone does not make for a successful year, but that sound progress in the fields of mathematics and science, as well as a high Bachelor pass rate also contribute to the overall product.

The latter seems to have once again flourished in the Cape, where the Bachelor pass rate increased from 38.8% last year to 41.7% for the 2015 matriculants, again making it the highest nationally.

“I am particularly pleased that a record number of candidates passed their NSC this year, and that once again we have seen an improvement in historically disadvantaged communities,” Schafer said.

“In the Western Cape we place great emphasis on ensuring that we keep as many learners in the school system for as long as possible and that they get the opportunity to write and pass their NSC.”

“We are very encouraged by the improvement in our rate of retention over the past five years. In 2015, the Western Cape has yet again managed to increase our retention rate by 3 percentage points from 63.8% in 2014 to 66.8% in 2015. .”

What does all this translate to in numbers? Well, have a look:

  • 45 496 learners passed the NSC.
  • 22 397 of those learners qualify for Bachelors, 3 855 more than last year and yet again the highest number in the country.
  • A further 16 496 learners qualify for Diploma, 1 923 more than that previous year and,
  • 6 605 learners achieved certificates, meaning that every single matriculant in the Western Cape has passed with access to higher education.

So, what about mathematics and scienceminister Schafer’s key focus points –?

  • A record 12 397 learners passed math, compared to 11 265 in the previous year
  • The science results are similarly impressive, with an increase of 935 from 11 091 in 2014 to 12 026 this year.

“I now look forward to celebrating these successes with learners and educators over the next few days and look forward to analysing these results even further, so that targeted interventions can be designed for schools that need it most.”