As for inmates who attended the first female school at the Johannesburg Female Correctional Services, the average pass rate was 62.5%, with 16 inmates enrolled for the matric exam. Six of those achieved a bachelor’s pass.
The top performing learner was Candice Prevost, who was awarded for achieving the highest pass mark in Afrikaans first additional language with 79%, tied with Marushka Robinson for tourism at 74%, and was awarded for best performing in English home language at 64%. She has registered with the University of South Africa to study supply chain and logistics.
The second top performing pupil is Kesentseng Elizabeth Dhlamini, who was awarded the highest for tourism, achieving 72% for the subject, followed by Dibuseng Mokhali, who received an award for performing the best in isiZulu first additional language with 76% and came second in tourism with 70%.
Realising her daughter would be in grade 11 in 2023 drove Dhlamini to work hard to complete her matric.
“That on its own pushed me to study very hard because I wouldn’t want to be in the same class as my daughter. We have to use our time fruitfully so that when we go back to the community we can have something to fall back on. Now I can take my results and apply to Unisa,” she said.
Mokhali, who was sentenced in 2015 to 20 years’ imprisonment, had finally completed her matric in prison after the third try.
“Writing my matric in 2023, I was writing it for the third time. It was difficult [to complete it] outside, but coming to prison gave me the opportunity to give it my all because I didn’t have any responsibility besides this. Being sentenced to 20 years in prison means I knew the journey had to be fulfilled,” she said.
SA’s inmates achieve a high 92.3% matric pass rate
Image: Sandile Ndlovu
Full-time matric pupils in correctional facilities achieved a 93.2% pass rate in the national senior certificate exams and attained a total 278 distinctions.
Minister of justice and correctional services (DCS) Ronald Lamola released the matric results for inmates at the Durban Correctional Centre on Tuesday.
He revealed that 137 of the 147 full-time matric pupils at correctional services centres passed their matric, with 90 obtaining a bachelor’s pass, 34 obtaining diploma passes and 13 passing with higher certificate.
“We also have part-time registered learners in the department of correctional services. When looking at their performance combined with full-time learners, we observe an 84% pass rate, where 157 out of 187 passed. Furthermore, 100 of these learners achieved bachelor’s passes, 41 achieved diploma passes and 16 achieved higher certificate passes,” Lamola said.
The best-performing matric pupil was Christopher Matthew Benn from Brandvlei, Western Cape, who passed with an average of 86.14%.
Benn passed with six distinctions and was awarded the highest performer in geography, at 89% and a high of 92% for tourism.
The second-best performer is Cameron Devon Jacobs, also from Brandvlei, who passed with 85% and was awarded the highest number of distinctions, which is seven. He is followed by Ntutukho Mshibe from Usethubeni in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), who came third with 84.13%.
Compulsory education for prisoners on the cards
As for inmates who attended the first female school at the Johannesburg Female Correctional Services, the average pass rate was 62.5%, with 16 inmates enrolled for the matric exam. Six of those achieved a bachelor’s pass.
The top performing learner was Candice Prevost, who was awarded for achieving the highest pass mark in Afrikaans first additional language with 79%, tied with Marushka Robinson for tourism at 74%, and was awarded for best performing in English home language at 64%. She has registered with the University of South Africa to study supply chain and logistics.
The second top performing pupil is Kesentseng Elizabeth Dhlamini, who was awarded the highest for tourism, achieving 72% for the subject, followed by Dibuseng Mokhali, who received an award for performing the best in isiZulu first additional language with 76% and came second in tourism with 70%.
Realising her daughter would be in grade 11 in 2023 drove Dhlamini to work hard to complete her matric.
“That on its own pushed me to study very hard because I wouldn’t want to be in the same class as my daughter. We have to use our time fruitfully so that when we go back to the community we can have something to fall back on. Now I can take my results and apply to Unisa,” she said.
Mokhali, who was sentenced in 2015 to 20 years’ imprisonment, had finally completed her matric in prison after the third try.
“Writing my matric in 2023, I was writing it for the third time. It was difficult [to complete it] outside, but coming to prison gave me the opportunity to give it my all because I didn’t have any responsibility besides this. Being sentenced to 20 years in prison means I knew the journey had to be fulfilled,” she said.
KZN’s top matric performer kicks ‘rural backwater’ image to the curb
Some of the top performing correctional centres and educators include:
Correctional services centres with the highest rate, from first to third performing
Correctional services centres with a 100% pass rate
Correctional services centres that have improved matric pass rates:
*The inmates wrote their exams through the public schools mentioned above
TimesLIVE
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How living without a birth certificate has crippled me, says grade 12 pupil facing ID blockade
Matric class of 2023 demonstrated extraordinary perseverance: Motshekga
Class of 2023 records an improved 82.9% matric pass rate
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