KwaZulu Natal produced the highest number of bachelor passes in the country after having the second-highest number of candidates who sat for the 2021 National Senior Certificate exams.
Pupils in the province achieved 62 856 Bachelor passes, 42 128 pupils got Diploma passes and 61 887 achieved Higher Certificates.
Announcing the provincial matric results, KZN MEC Kwazi Mshengu said the matric class of 2021 achieved an outstanding 76.8% pass rate, which is a marginal 0.8% decrease from the performance of the class of 2020. 127 990 pupils had passed Grade 12 in the province.
According to the official National Senior Certificate results released by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Thursday, the national pass rate for the class of 2021 was 76.4% – a 0.2% improvement from the previous year.
Mshengu said the class of 2021 had proven to be the most resilient class in recent history.
“This is the class that had to contend with two full years of Covid-19 disruption. Unlike the 2020 Grade 12 learners, this cohort was the one that lost a lot of time for several months in Grade 11 and missed out on an opportunity to cover certain learning areas that would have better prepared them for Grade 12. It had to contend with July unrest which forced us to cancel our annual winter classes,” said Mshengu.
These are the top-performing district in the province:
1.Ugu District 80.4%
2. Umlazi District 80.0%
3. Amajuba District 79.7%
4. Zululand District 78.2%
5. King Cetshwayo District 77.4%
6. Umgungundlovu District 76.5%
7. Harry Gwala District 76.0%
8. Ilembe District 75.7%
9. Umkhanyakude District 75.3%
10. Pinetown District 74.8%
11. Uthukela District 74.6%
12. Umzinyathi District 71.7%