The Department of Basic Education says it will release the matric results of the class of 2021 on Thursday. The National Senior Certificate Examinations took place between October 27, 2021 and December 6, 2021.
The year 2021 was the second time that matric results were written under the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Department put measures in place to ensure that the academic year went smoothly, the grade 12 calendar came and went with its own challenges.
There are over 735 000 full-time candidates that sat for the National Senior Certificate Examinations in 2021 awaiting the release of their results.
In 2020 amidst the height of the pandemic, school closures impacted studies immensely and affected scores of South African learners negatively, however 2021 things improved.
Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga says, “Teenage pregnancies and dropouts stood out mostly. Statistics South Africa recorded the birth of close to 900 000 babies in 2020, 34 587 were born to girls aged 17 and younger…”
This has led to the Department of Basic Education introducing a new law to reduce and manage the rate of school pregnancies.
From January 2022, schools will be compelled to report pregnancies to the police if the child is under 16 years old and the expecting father, over 16.
The high pregnancy numbers have left experts concerned about the future of these young girls.
The class of 2021 will know what their future holds on Thursday when their results are released.
Tears of joy
Meanwhile, some parents of matrics who wrote the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) are crying tears of joy on Wednesday. The class of 2021 has achieved a 98.39% pass rate in the matric examination.
The results are a bit higher than in 2020. For the past two years, the school curriculum has been disrupted due to the pandemic.
Roshini Moodley is one of the parents whose son matriculated at St John’s College in Johannesburg. “I’m very proud of him and all the boys at St John’s College. And every single matriculant in our country. It’s an outstanding achievement. There were challenges, anxiety, a lot of predictability and uncertainty. What was inspiring is how the school community came together. Teachers, the management team and the parents.”
CEO of the Independent Examinations Board, Anne Oberholzer:
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