MPUMALANGA – Mpumalanga has raised the bar, which the 2025 matric class should aim to perform above.
The 2024 matriculants achieved an 84% pass rate, which surpasses the 83% target that was set.
This pass rate represents a 7.99% improvement from the previous year’s 77%.
Speaking to Highveld Chronicle on Friday morning, Education MEC Cathy Dlamini said the bar has now been raised to 90% for this year.
“We are driven by the end goal. We are aiming for number one. The difference between us and number one is just 6%,” said the soft-spoken MEC.
MEC Dlamini explained that a 100% pass rate would be ideal, but the reality is that they are aiming for 90%.
“For now, our target – without wanting any learner to fail, as we would want all learners to pass – is 90%. But reality is, sometimes you don’t get the 100% that you want,” she said.
She also sounded optimistic about the attainability of this target.
“We believe it is doable,” she said.
“The Premier wants 100%, but we are saying, should we fall short, let’s fall at 90%. That is our target for this year.”
Out of the 64,201 candidates who sat for the NSC exams, 54,567 passed.
A total of 27,885 learners qualify to register for bachelor programmes, an improvement from the 21,819 who obtained bachelor passes in 2023. This confirms the overall quality of the results, which improved by 10.1% from 33.3% to 43.4%, exceeding the target by 3.4%.
Additionally, 17,775 learners qualify to enrol for diploma programmes, an increase of 363 compared to the 17,412 who qualified in 2023.
HC archive: MEC Cathy Dlamini is targeting a 90% pass rate for the matric class of 2025. The class of 2024 exceeded the 83% target by 1.99%.
