Education experts and civil society groups in South Africa have welcomed the 2023 matric results, which showed a pass rate of 82.9%, up from 80.1% in 2022 and 76.4% in 2021. However, they expressed concern that over 450,000 learners who started Grade 1 with last year's cohort did not make it to Grade 12. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) database shows that 740,566 candidates progressed from Grade 1 in 2012 to Grade 12 in 2023, but in October 2023, 715,719 candidates enrolled for the 2023 NSC exams.
Kristal Duncan-Williams, project lead at Youth Capital, a campaign advocating for evidence-based solutions to youth unemployment, said that the matric pass rate should be celebrated, as young people face many systemic challenges on their journey from Grade 1 to Grade 12. She pointed out that around 40% of those who started Grade 1 in 2012 hadn't enrolled for the 2023 NSC exams. She suggested the need to create monitoring systems that can detect potential dropouts and prevent scholars from dropping out.
Motshekga briefly addressed the issue in her speech, stating that children are now more likely to successfully complete a National Senior Certificate or an equivalent qualification. However, there was a drastic decline in the number of learners enrolled between the matriculating classes starting Grade 1 and progression through the schooling system. The class of 2023 also had approximately 40,000 fewer learners enrolled in matric than the previous year's cohort.
Education expert Mary Metcalfe noted a significant improvement in the overall pass rate, in the percentage of learners achieving a bachelor pass, and in the percentage of those passing maths. She described KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Eastern Cape as "stable" while Free State, Western Cape, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga were described as "stable."
Motshekga highlighted the intersection of education, socioeconomic, and psychosocial factors, stating that the gains were due to a "pro-poor" policy stance that provided learners with food, uniforms, stationery, and transport.
The National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) released a statement congratulating matriculants on their impressive pass rates, but expressed concerns about cases of cheating within the examination process and reports circulating regarding the issuing of fake matric certificates. Naptosa urges authorities to take swift action against all parties involved in cases of cheating and the creation and distribution of counterfeit certificates to serve as a deterrent to others and reaffirm the importance of maintaining the integrity of the National Senior Certificate.
