Thumbs up for class of 2020 after they endured an eventful year

THE independent Examination Board (IEB) has congratulated their 2020 matric learners for an “excellent performance under very difficult circumstances” with outstanding results in their exams.

The IEB National Senior Certificate (NSC) recorded 98.07% pass rate, slightly lower than the 2019 pass rate of 98.82%.

All candidates who passed achieved a pass that is good enough to enter tertiary study as 88.42% of the cohort achieved bachelor’s passes, which allows them to study towards a degree; 8.14% qualified for diploma studies, and 1.51% compared to 1.4% in 2019 achieved entry for study at a higher certificate level.

About 12 024 full-time and 1 139 part-time candidates sat down in October and November at 261 venues in South Africa – more than in 2019.

They received their much-anticipated Grade 12 results at midnight and the hardcopy this morning.

It comes while the Department of Basic Education’s results will appear on February 23.

IBE chief executive officer Anne Oberholzer said that what was not clear in the numbers was the impact of Covid19 on the schooling population, with several pupils withdrawing postponing completion of Grade 12 until 2021.

“It is interesting to note that the hard lockdown had differing impacts across schools within the IEB. Some schools were able to make a smooth transition to online teaching and learning as they had the resources available and in fact, had already been using them in the normal course of events. Their teachers were experienced in this mode of delivery, as were their learners who had access to devices and stable internet connectivity.

“The excellent performance of the class of 2020 under very difficult circumstances, underscores the importance of the years of good, solid teaching and learning prior to the Grade 12 year. This is proof that the Grade 12 year on its own does not provide the understanding, perseverance and resilience needed to achieve excellent results in the matric year – but that is the culmination of work and learning over 12 or 13 years of quality schooling,” said Oberholzer.

The closing date for the application for remarking is March 3 and the results from remarking will be released on March 26, while the closing date for learners who qualify to enrol for the supplementary examination is April 16.