The Independent Examination Board (IEB) reported a 98,3% pass rate for the pupils who wrote its matric exams this year.
This is a minuscule drop from the 98,4% of 2014.
Of the 10 212 full-time and 563 part-time pupils from 200 schools across southern Africa who wrote the IEB exams, 85,3% achieved entry to degree study compared with 85,5% for 2014, the IEB said.
A total of 11,7% of pupils (11,6% in 2014) qualified for entry to diploma study and 1,4% (also 1,4% in 2014) achieved entry for study at the higher certificate level.
“The IEB is proud of the achievements of the class of 2015. Learners have again shown that with a commitment to hard work over their 12 years of schooling and supported by a dedicated cohort of teachers and parents, they have achieved the first major milestone in their learning careers,” said IEB CEO Anne Oberholzer.
She said Umalusi had monitored all aspects of the examination process and had declared the results fair and valid.
This year 236 additional pupils wrote the IEB examination, compared with 9 976 in 2014.
The increase was largely due to pupils from eight new institutions that joined the IEB and increases in learner numbers at existing schools across South Africa and in Namibia, Swaziland and Mozambique.
The percentage of pupils learners scoring 40% and above in physical science was 86% and the percentage scoring 40% and above in mathematics was 88,3%.
Applications for re-marks are on 8 January 2016 and those results will be released on 1 February 2016. The closing date for pupils who want to enrol for supplementary exams is 5 February 2016.
Of the 51 candidates for the “Combined Abitur-NSC” qualification offered by the German schools in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria, all passed with entry to degree study.
The qualification consists of five subjects assessed by the IEB and seven subjects assessed by the German education authorities.
In terms of a government-to-government agreement, successful pupils in the Combined Abitur-NSC are recognised by German education authorities for entry to German universities and by the South African education authorities for entry to South African universities. — News24
