The Department of Basic Education has published the final National Senior Certificate (NSC) results for the 2024 matric year, showing a percentage point increase in the pass rate to 87.3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking during an address to the nation on 13 January 2025, basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube said that the matric pass rate is not the only important figure in education, but it is a strong indicator of progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 615,000 learners passed the exams – the highest in South Africa’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past ten years, the NSC pass rate has been rising\u2014from 60% in 2009 to over 80% to date, and the matric class of 2024 maintained this momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year’s matric pass rate of 82.9% was the highest since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, and the 2024 results have pushed this to a new record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the department, 724,311 learners registered for the exam, and 705,291 wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of bachelor passes increased by 6.9 percentage points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The class of 2024 has obtained 47.8% Bachelor passes (337,158 matrics), up significantly from 40.9% in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learners achieved over 319,000 distinctions – with every province increasing the number. KwaZulu Natal led the way, as is the case with the number of Bachelor’s passes in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gwarabe said that all provinces improved with the following results (including progressed learners), and every province achieved higher than 84%:<\/p>\n\n\n\n#<\/th> Province<\/th> 2023 Pass rate<\/th> 2024 Pass rate<\/th> Change<\/th><\/tr><\/thead> 1<\/td> Free State<\/td> 89.0%<\/td> 91.0%<\/td> +2.0<\/td><\/tr> 2<\/td> KwaZulu Natal<\/td> 86.4%<\/td> 89.5%<\/td> +3.1<\/td><\/tr> 3<\/td> Gauteng<\/td> 85.4%<\/td> 88.4%<\/td> +3.0<\/td><\/tr> 4<\/td> North West<\/td> 81.6%<\/td> 87.5%<\/td> +5.9<\/td><\/tr> 5<\/td> Western Cape<\/td> 81.5%<\/td> 86.6%<\/td> +5.1<\/td><\/tr> 6<\/td> Limpopo<\/td> 79.5%<\/td> 85.1%<\/td> +5.6<\/td><\/tr> 7<\/td> Mpumalanga<\/td> 77.0%<\/td> 84.9%<\/td> +7.9<\/td><\/tr> 8<\/td> Eastern Cape<\/td> 81.4%<\/td> 84.9%<\/td> +3.5<\/td><\/tr> 9<\/td> Northern Cape<\/td> 75.8%<\/td> 84.2%<\/td> +8.3<\/td><\/tr> <\/td> National<\/strong><\/td> 82.9%<\/strong><\/td> 87.3%<\/strong><\/td> +4.4<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n