Matric exemptions increase 20 percent

The number of school leavers who gained matric exemption rose to nearly 20 percent in 2009, though the overall matric pass rate continued to decline with four out of ten failing their final exam.

Education director general Duncan Hindle said 19.8 percent of the 551,940 students who sat the exam could proceed to university, compared to 18 percent last year.

He corrected earlier information from the department which said bachelor passes had risen from 18 to 32 percent.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the increase in matric exemptions on Thursday said was one of the "positive gains" of the 2009 results. "This means that there is a greater number of learners who will be eligible to access higher education," Motshekga said in Pretoria.

Motshekga blamed poor teaching and management in schools for the disappointing national pass rate of 60.7 percent, down from 62.5 percent in 2008 and 65.2 percent in 2007.

She said poor teaching was widespread, and singled out science as a subject needing urgent attention.

In the Western Cape, only 52.9 percent of matrics passed science compared to 71.2 percent in 2008. However Motshekga said she was heartened by the fact that more pupils were registered for mathematics.

Despite an overall decline in the pass rate, some 417 schools achieved a 100 percent pass rate across the country.

Twenty-three fell into quintile one schools - under-resourced schools classified in the lowest poverty ranking.

KwaZulu-Natal improved its pass rate by 3.5 percent, from 57.6 percent in 2008 to 61.1 percent in 2009, while the Eastern Cape stabilised at 50 percent.

Motshekga praised the two provinces for managing "to buck the downward trend of the past years and... turn around."

Mpumalanga, which also published its results on Thursday after doubts it would be able to, due to a leaked exam paper scandal, had the poorest performance with a pass rate of 45.9 percent, a decline of 3.9 percent.

In Gauteng the pass rate fell from 76.4 percent in 2008 to 71.8, a sharp decline which provincial education MEC Barbara Creecy described as "sobering". She urged teachers and pupils to do better this year.

The Western Cape also failed to halt a downward slide that has taken it from 85 percent in 2004 to 75.7 percent in 2009.

The pass rate in the Free State declined to 69.4 percent from 71.8 percent in 2008, while the North West went down from 68 percent to 67.5 percent.

Limpopo also saw a decline from 54.3 percent to 48.9 percent. The Northern Cape had a significant drop of 11 percent with 61.3 percent, compared to 72.7 percent in 2008.

Motshekga said the education system continued to be plagued by "obvious weaknesses" that act as barriers to pupils' performance. "We must intensify our efforts to address these weaknesses."

She congratulated matriculants who performed well and passed, and urged those who failed to try again. “Try again…There is always a second chance. Make use of those chances. We do not always succeed the first time around."

Supplementary examinations would take place in March.