KZN tops for achievers

Durban — KwaZulu-Natal has increased the number of matric national top achievers from 10 last year to 13 this year.

The 13 represented the province during the annual breakfast with the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga on Thursday in Johannesburg.

Zonke Thwala from Siphesihle High School in Verulam, north of Durban, was excited that she managed to perform well despite accommodation challenges faced by his parents.

Another top achiever from the province, Olwethu Khumalo from Mandla Mthethwa School of Excellence at Ndumo village in Jozini, said he did not experience any challenges because dedicated teachers ensured he got all the support he needed to do well.

Olwethu said the school made resources available and winter schools also contributed to his achievement. He has already been admitted to the University of Cape Town to study actuarial science.

“I want to thank my parents, and teachers for ensuring that I get all the support I needed. With that, I had no reason not to do well.”

Jaskaran Rajaruthnam from Westville Boys’ High School said the only challenge was that he tended to put himself under pressure, but his teachers and friends advised him to take it easy.

He added that staying focused on his subjects ensured that he did not fall behind in any subject. He too will soon move to Cape Town to do medicine at the University of Cape Town.

There was jubilation in Ulundi as Simlindile Khumalo from Ondini High School represented the town as one of the national top achievers.

Before jetting off to Gauteng he was visited by Ulundi mayor Wilson Ntshangase on Wednesday, who congratulated his excellent work. Simlindile said he had all the support he needed except load shedding which always disrupted his studying schedule.

He, too, will be doing medicine either at the University of Cape Town or Wits University as both institutions accepted his application.

Speaking at the breakfast, Motshekga said she was grateful to parents and teachers for their role in directing the pupils towards a path of success. The minister announced the overall results on Thursday while provinces will announce theirs on Friday (today).

The matric class of 2023 outshone all predecessors since the dawn of democracy, reaching an 82.9% pass rate.

Announced by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Thursday evening, the results mark a significant increase from 80.1% in 2022 and 76.4% in 2021.

This year’s results not only reflect a 2.8% improvement from last year but also a notable 6.5% leap from 2021.

Motshekga praised the 2023 cohort for achieving the highest percentage of Bachelor passes and distinctions in the history of the NSC exams, highlighting the substantial contributions from rural provinces, particularly in Limpopo, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Free State led the provinces with an 89.0% pass rate, while Limpopo showed the most improvement with a 7.4% increase.

KwaZulu-Natal came in second place and was the third-best improved province, with an 86.4% pass rate, an increase of 3.4% from 2022.

Gauteng came third.

KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng contributed the most Bachelor passes, with 72,099 for KZN, and 56,552 for Gauteng. When combined, KZN and Gauteng contributed 128,651 Bachelor passes - 45.5% of the total Bachelor passes achieved in the 2023 NSC exams.

In 2022 the province scored 83% which was a big jump from 77% in the previous year. The province was the most improved out of all the provinces.

This prompted the Education MEC Mbali Frazer to set her target at 90%.

The province also boasts a high number of pupils sitting for matric every year and the country always banks on its performance to cushion the national pass rate.

The province’s biggest jump of 6.2 % also helped the national pass rate jump by 3.7% last year.

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