2019 DBE matric pass rate the highest in democratic SA

The 81.3% 2019 DBE matric pass rate is the highest in democratic South Africa. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga officially announced the DBE matric results in Midrand, Johannesburg on Tuesday.

She says most of the top-performing districts are based in Gauteng. The province has achieved an 87.2% pass rate but had a 0.7 percentage point decrease.

The top-performing province is the Free State with an 88.4% pass rate and a 0.9 percentage point improvement. The North West is third with 86.8% with a 5.8 percentage point improvement.

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi says despite being the only province with a decreased matric pass rate, he is satisfied with the quality of the results.

“The only disturbing trend that we are seeing is that many students are leaving pure maths, choosing maths literacy and there, we have a serious, serious problem but generally, I think we have stabilised as Gauteng. Our schools of specialisation are doing exceptionally well. The twinning of schools have assisted, you see that the schools that were struggling if you twin them, they perform very well, so it’s an exciting moment for Gauteng and we are thrilled. We really believe that we’ve done very well but we must thank the Free State and congratulate them as well.”

Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape Province has improved its matric pass rate. It has moved from the bottom of the list of provinces to eighth position. Limpopo is at the bottom of the list.

Minister Motshekga has commended the Eastern Cape for its performance saying it is the result of many interventions, partnerships and support groups.