Fast forward 12 years, however, and only\u00a0688,660 <\/span> of those learners made it through to pen their matric exams.<\/p>\n This means that, in real terms, only 55% of the learners who started school in 2003 made it through 12 years of education – the rest were lost along the way.<\/p>\n Put another way, with a pass rate of 75.8%, this means that only around 41.7% of learners<\/strong> who started school attained a NSC<\/strong>, while 59.2% did not.<\/p>\n More alarming, that means only around 12% (150,752 learners) managed to gain admission to Bachelor studies.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Put in this context, it is clear that the matric pass rate simply does not give the full picture of the state of education in South Africa.<\/p>\n The department of education itself, has distanced the announcement as a measure for academic achievement<\/a> in the entire schooling system:<\/p>\n “Contrary to popular belief, the Matric pass rate on its own is not a good measure of academic achievement in the schooling system, nor was the pass rate ever designed for this. However, the pass rate can serve as a measure of the opportunities open to our youths.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Specifically, the final announced number is meant only to show how many pupils managed to get access to further education and at which level. (See side panel).<\/p>\n Further, this final statistic is affected by a number of other forces – such as the number of pupils writing; the subject spread amongst pupils; as well as top-performing schools skewing the average.<\/p>\n The matric pass rate showed a near miraculous increase under the Zuma leadership \u2013 hitting an all-time high of 78.2% in 2013.<\/p>\n While many government officials are celebrating this growth, many academics and educational experts warn against associating the matric pass rate growth with a healthy education system.<\/p>\n Theuns Eloff, former vice-chancellor at North-West University, said that the matric pass rate which increased from 60.6% in 2009 to 78.2% in 2013 is an illusion<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Eloff said that there are many indicators which show that there is no improvement in the quality of education in South Africa.<\/p>\n Free State vice-chancellor Jonathan Jansen previously said that the truth is that South Africa\u2019s education system is a fraud.<\/p>\n Academics and educational experts highlighted that the following issues should be considered when looking at South Africa\u2019s matric results.<\/p>\n Matric pass rate history<\/p><\/div>\n Matric pass rate expected to drop: report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Matric exam probe finds irregularities<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMinimum requirements to obtain the National Senior Certificate<\/h3>\n
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Higher Education requirements:<\/h3>\n
Higher Certificate<\/h3>\n
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Diploma<\/h3>\n
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Bachelor Degree<\/h3>\n
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The state of education<\/h3>\n
An illusion and a fraud<\/h3>\n
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South Africa’s reported matric pass rate history<\/h3>\n
![\"Matric](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Matric-pass-rate-history2.png\")
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\n Year<\/strong><\/td>\n Pass rate
\n<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n 1995<\/td>\n 53.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1996<\/td>\n 54.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1997<\/td>\n 47.4%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1998<\/td>\n 49.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1999<\/td>\n 48.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2000<\/td>\n 57.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2001<\/td>\n 61.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2002<\/td>\n 68.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2003<\/td>\n 73.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2004<\/td>\n 70.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2005<\/td>\n 68.3%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2006<\/td>\n 66.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2007<\/td>\n 65.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2008<\/td>\n 62.5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2009<\/td>\n 60.6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2010<\/td>\n 67.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2011<\/td>\n 70.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2012<\/td>\n 73.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2013<\/td>\n 78.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2014<\/td>\n 75.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n More on matrics<\/h3>\n