The 2023 Matric Class of South Africa (MSC) has achieved a pass rate of 82.9%, up from the previous year's rate of 80.1%. The National Matric Pass Rate is up by 2.8% from 2022's rate of 80.1%. The class of 2023 has registered 715,719 full-time and 182,056 part-time candidates for the 2023 NSC (National Senior Certificate) examinations. Two hundred eighty-two thousand eight hundred ninety-four candidates qualified for university admission to bachelor studies, with KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng contributing the most passes. One hundred eighty-seven thousand eight hundred seventy-six candidates passed with a diploma.
The pass rate of the 2023 NSC exams is the highest in the history of the NSC so far, with 253 807 distinctions achieved. The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Limpopo, the three most rural provinces in the country, produced 50.9% of the total bachelor passes and 59.0% of the total passes with distinction.
Motshekga noted that 56.4% of the candidates who wrote the 2023 NSC exams were girls, while 43.6% were boys. 42% of the girls and 39.6% of the boys attained bachelor passes, while 26.1% of the girls and 28.6% of the boys attained diploma passes. 14.8% of the girls and 14.6% of the boys achieved higher certificate passes, while female candidates reached 66.4% of the distinctions.
The 2023 NSC examinations showed a high degree of stability in the system, with improved data collection, analysis, and feedback processes within the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The top 10 district-level performances in the country are Johannesburg West in Gauteng with 92.5%, Motheo in Free State with 91.2%, Tshwane South in Gauteng with 90.4%, Umkhanyakude in Kwazulu-Natal with 90%, Fezile Dabi in Free State with 89.6%, Ugu in Kwazulu-Natal with 89.5%, Thabo Mafutsanyana in Free State with 89.4%, Ilembe in KwaZulu-Natal with 88.6%, Gauteng North with 88.4%, and Zululand in Kwazulu-Natal with 87.2%.
