The 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results have marked a historic moment for South Africa’s education system, with a record-breaking pass rate of 87.3%, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced on Monday night.
This is the highest pass rate in the country’s history, and an improvement from 82.9% in 2023. Every province improved on its 2023 performance, the minister said.
Gwarube said that the number of full-time candidates writing the NSC examinations increased from 691 160 in 2023 to 705 291 in 2024.
“We also saw the number of learners with special education needs who wrote the National Senior Certificate examinations increase from 5 288 in 2023 to 6 470 in 2024.
“Furthermore, we saw 556 726 learners who are beneficiaries of social grants writing the National Senior Certificate exams in 2024 – 12 938 more than in 2023,” she said.
More than 615,000 learners passed the NSC exams, with 47.8% qualifying for admission to bachelor’s studies— an increase from 40.9% last year.
KwaZulu-Natal led with 84,470 bachelor passes, followed by Gauteng with 66,979 and the Eastern Cape with 45,662.
Gwarube said that 67% of bachelor passes came from underprivileged schools in Quintiles 1 to 3.
“This means that poorer communities are producing more and more candidates who can go on to become doctors, engineers, accountants and scientists,” she said.
“The Class of 2024 has shown extraordinary resilience,” said Gwarube, referencing challenges such as pandemic disruptions, budget constraints, and social issues like gangsterism and violence. She likened the learners’ perseverance to the protea, which thrives in adversity.
Despite the success, challenges persist. International benchmarks and systemic evaluations reveal ongoing deficits in foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy. Over 69% of learners passed mathematics, an improvement from 63.5% in 2023, but physical sciences saw a slight decline to 75.6% from 76.2% last year.
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