News24 | Education experts pour cold water over DA’s 55.3% 'real matric pass rate'

Pupils check their matric results published in the newspaper.

Education experts have widely welcomed the 2023 National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate of 82.9% despite the Democratic Alliance’s claim that the real pass rate was only 55.3%. 

While the academics agreed with the DA that the issue of pupils leaving school before passing matric was a serious concern, they said "it is rather dull to have the same hysteria [over the pass mark] year after year".

Their comments come amid a statement by the DA spokesperson on basic education, Baxolile Nodada, that the "real matric pass rate from the Grade 10 cohort in 2021 that ought to have completed matric" in 2023 was 55.3%, because 341 052 pupils had dropped out between Grade 10 and 12 during that period.

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