Class of 2021 Matric results pass rate

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 20: Education Minister Angie Motshega during the announcement of the Matric Results for the class of 2021 on January 20, 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The matric class that wrote the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate exams in 2021 had a 98.39% pass rate. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)

2021 Matric Results: SIX key figures behind the new pass rate…

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced the 2021 matric results earlier this evening – we’ve got the latest updates here.

Class of 2021 Matric results pass rate

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 20: Education Minister Angie Motshega during the announcement of the Matric Results for the class of 2021 on January 20, 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The matric class that wrote the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate exams in 2021 had a 98.39% pass rate. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)

The Grade 12 students from the Class of 2021 encountered challenges like no other school year before them. After spending two academic years learning under COVID-19 restrictions, the fruits of their labour saw them improve on last year’s pass rate by 0.2% – here are all the other key developments:

  • The Class of 2021 has now achieved a 76.4% pass rate – up from 76.2% in 2020.
  • Free State is the best-performing province, recording an 85.7% pass rate.
  • Limpopo is bottom of the pile, after its pass rate dropped 1.5% to 66.7%.
  • The Northern Cape saw its pass rate rise by 5.4%, finishing with 71.4% in 2021.
  • Tshwane South has the highest PR of any district, reaching 89.3%.
  • KZN and Gauteng gave us the most Bachelor Passes, accounting for 46% of the national total.

Matric results LIVE: Follow latest blog updates here…

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Matric results for 2021 – live updates for Thursday 20 January

On Wednesday, the first cohort of matric results were made public. The pass rate for IEB schools – made up of private and independent institutions – reached 98.39%, which was up slightly from last year.

Over 89% of the cohort achieved entry to degree study, compared to 88.41% in 2020.

Pass rate concerns for Class of 2021

These numbers aren’t usually replicated at a public level, however. The impact of COVID and subsequent lockdowns have had an enormous impact further down the chain, but that didn’t stop the Class of 2021 from improving on last year.

Some experts said the Class of 2021 will not be able to match the 76.2% pass rate recorded 12 months ago. Last year, two separate waves of COVID played havoc with the school schedule, following the chaos encountered in 2020.

But, regardless of the curveballs, our matriculants proved the doubters wrong. Kudos, guys!

Where can I find my marks?

YOU CAN ACCESS YOUR MATRIC RESULTS TODAY – AND ALL YOU’LL NEED TO DO IS GET YOUR EXAMINATION NUMBER READY AND CLICK HERE. 

The matric results will also be published on various media platforms. The High Court in Pretoria ruled in favour of Afriforum, which had challenged the department’s decision to no longer publish the matric exam results in the media, including online sites and traditional newspapers