Free State Education MEC Pule Makgoe has expressed gratitude to the communities in the province who played a major role in supporting the Matric Class of 2021.
Leading the pack once again, the Free State has achieved the highest matric pass rate at 85.7% – which is an improvement of 0.6% from 2020.
FREE STATE IS NUMBER 1
Well done to the class of Class of 2021 pic.twitter.com/wOSAwuM9Bu
— FS Government (@fsgov) January 20, 2022
Makgoe says they succeeded in motivating the learners.
“The parents played a significant role as you know these two years. We had huge problems with COVID-19, then we had to depend on parents in supporting their learners and those who had access to things like online learning but also the teachers themselves. One thing we did slightly different from other provinces is that our schooling was 7-days of the week. We also mobilised them to churches, we know that doesn’t necessarily improve their performances because of the prayer but it motivates them.”
Free State matric results – some statistics
The Free State has proven to be the province to beat, outperforming all provinces and retaining the highest matric pass rate since 2016.
Despite a few challenges over the years, the province has also managed to obtain a pass rate of over 80% since 2016.
- Having the highest matric pass rate of 88% in 2016, the Free State was named the top-performing province. This was a 6% improvement on the year before.
- With a pass rate of 90% in 2017, the province remained the top performer.
- Recording its highest pass rate since it was first named the top performing province, the Free State saw an impressive pass rate of 91% in 2018.
- In 2019, the province recorded 88%, still outperforming other provinces.
Provincial pass rates
The National Senior Certificate matric class of 2021 overall pass rate stands at 76.4%, an improvement of 0.2% from the pass rate achieved by the Class of 2020.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the improvement comes despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gauteng came in second place with a pass rate of 82,8% – which is a one percentage point decline from last year.
Gauteng was followed by the Western Cape with 81.2% – an increase of one point three percent.
Motshekga says only one province failed to breach the 70% pass rate.
Map | Matric results 2021 provincial outlook:
-Additional reporting by Paballo Lephaka
![[File photo] Learners writing exams.](https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Matrics-coronavirus-monitor.jpg){kind=small}
