Bright matric tale raises questions

The young men and women collecting their matric results today deserve our admiration. Apart from the usual 12-year-long journey to the Senior Certificate, these were the pupils whose critical years were derailed by Covid in 2020. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga acknowledged this yesterday when announcing the final matric results, as she described them as possibly the group which was most disadvantaged by the pandemic and the emergency schooling arrangements which had to be made.

To achieve pass rates then – in all provinces – of more than 80% is a testament to the resilience and commitment of these young people. This is something which bodes well for the country as a whole.

The minister was crowing because, at a pass rate of 82.9%, the 2023 matric exams produced the best results in the post-democracy era.

While that is something arriving with good timing for the ANC ahead of the coming elections, and while it cannot be denied that the government has improved access to education by leaps and bounds since 1994, there are still some clouds on the horizon threatening to rain on Motshekga’s congratulatory parade.

Independent educational experts point out that, using the House Data Survey and looking at the number of children who start Grade 8 and actually pass matric, then the real pass rate is only about 60%.

Also, while many involved in the state school system do their jobs well, there are questions which must be asked. And prime among those is whether or not we are fooling ourselves as a country with these ever-rising success stories. How do we compare with other countries, particularly those in the developing world?

We should be benchmarking ourselves against the global leaders – and if we are not competitive, we need to accept that and get down to real improvement.