Department of Basic Education explains Matric pass marks
Even though the Department of Basic Education announces a single matric pass rate every year, it has explained there isn’t one common pass mark in South Africa.
Basic education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga told eNCA that South Africa has three levels of matric pass: bachelor’s, diploma, and higher certificate.
A bachelor’s pass is the bare minimum needed for a chance to get into university to study for a degree. Many degrees have additional entry requirements, though.
Similarly, a diploma pass is the minimum needed to gain entry into a tertiary institution for a diploma course.
Mhlanga explained that for a bachelor’s pass, matriculants need at least 50% in four subjects. You can still pass if you have 40% in two subjects and 30% in one subject.
For a diploma pass, you need to pass four subjects at 40%. The others can be at 30%.
“At higher certificate level, you also pass at 40% in three subjects, and then the others can be 30%,” stated Mhlanga.
“If you get 30% in all the subjects, then you don’t pass. That’s why we are saying the 30% is not a pass,” he said.
“It’s conditional… if you look at the complex requirements that are there for everyone to enable them to pass at bachelor, diploma, or certificate level.”
Mhlanga also offered an alternative perspective from an analysis by education experts who recently told the Rapport newspaper that they expect 2021’s matric results to be worse than 2020.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa managing director Basil Manuel told Rapport he would be stunned if 2021’s matric pass rate was better than 2020 and said the best to hope for was a similar result.
Manuel explained that most matrics would have been in grade 11 in 2020, and many students would not have caught up sufficiently to excel in their exams.
In addition, load-shedding during the final exam period in 2021 made matters difficult.
Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools chair Jaco Deacon echoed Manuel’s assessment.
Mhlanga acknowledged the argument that the class of 2021 may not have had enough time to recover from the impact of Covid–19 lockdowns during their grade 11 year.
However, he said it is possible that this year’s matrics could perform better.
“The class of 2021 were able to go to school every day without any interruptions. There were no closures of schools,” stated Mhlanga.
“They went to camps. We tried to recover as much of the time we lost in 2020 with the class of 2021. They were supported in every possible way.”
The national matric results for learners in public schools are expected to be announced on 21 January 2021, two days after the Independent Education Board (IEB) will reveal results for learners in the private schools under its umbrella.
-mybroadband
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