Matric results 2020: These 18 schools recorded a ‘0% pass rate’

Shock data released by the Democratic Alliance states that there has been a spike in the number of schools that have recorded a 0% pass rate from their matric results. In 2019, just 13 of these institutions were identified – but that figure has now gone up to 18, indicating a 38.4% rise in ‘absolute zeroes’.

Schools with a 0% pass rate from their matric results

A 0% pass rate is ‘achieved’ when not even a single student earns one qualification from their matric results. It’s not exactly common, but sadly, there is always a handful of institutions that get slapped with this dreaded status.

Limpopo accounts for half of these ‘worst-case scenario’ results, with nine schools placed on the list. The Eastern Cape is second, as four schools reported a 0% pass rate. KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng rack up three and two strike-outs respectively, but there’s a clean slate for Free State, Mpumalanga, North West, the Northern Cape, and the Western Cape.

The 0% pass rates for 2020

Matric results reaction: ‘The DBE has failed these children’

Shadow Minister of Basic Education, Baxolile Nodada, has slammed the government for ‘failing to properly support children’. The DA representative acknowledged the challenges brought on by COVID-19, but refused to accept that so many schools can still come away with a 0% pass rate.

“There’s been a 38.4% increase of schools with a 0% pass rate – up from 13 in 2019 to 18 in 2020. The DA will conduct oversight visits to these schools. While the challenges brought on by the pandemic may have played a role in this increase, the reality is that it is also indicative of the deep systemic failures of the Department of Basic Education (DBE).”

“These schools have not been properly supported, and it’s the learner who ultimately carries these failures into their futures. How many generations of children will continue to suffer while the Department tries to yet again get its ducks in row? Schools should be safe havens where learners are equipped for bright futures, not burdened and demoralized.”

Baxolile Nodada