Gauteng 'born frees' break through with matric results

The Gauteng matriculants, the 1994 generation, have done the province proud with their top pass rate, the premier said on Thursday.

"It is fitting that this group of young people, the Born Frees, are the ones who have achieved this remarkable feat," premier Nomvula Mokonyane said in a statement.

Gauteng was the top achieving province in the matric exams. It achieved an 83.9 percent pass rate. Mokonyane said this was the highest pass rate in the country since 1994.

It was also a 2.8 percent increase from 2011's 81.1 percent for the province.

“We cannot understate the importance of our communities taking a collective responsibility to ensure that quality education takes place in all our schools, from Sandton to Soweto."

Mokonyane thanked everyone involved in schooling, from government officials to parents and pupils.

"These results are proof that we are going in the right direction.”