By ROD AMNER
Makhanda’s nine public schools have produced 305 bachelor matric passes, just shy of the record 313 bachelor pass recorded in 2021.
This matric cohort – who spent much of their crucial Grade 10 and 11 years in lockdown – is still far ahead of the previous high of 238 bachelor passes set in 2018.
And, with an overall pass rate of 84.6% – up from 83% last year – they consolidated Makhanda’s position as the top-performing education centre in the Eastern Cape.
A bachelor’s pass makes a candidate eligible for a degree at a university, university of technology, TVET college, or any accredited Higher Learning Institution.
The new biggest bachelor pass hitter is Nombulelo High School. The school produced a staggering 80 bachelor passes – just over half of their 159 passes. This was almost double their total of 43 bachelor passes in 2021. With 23 fails, Nombulelo’s pass rate this year was 87.4%.
Victoria Girls High School continues to produce outstanding results. All 77 candidates passed – 71 of them (92.2%) achieved a bachelor’s pass (up from 91.5% last year).
Another big hitter was Ntsika, which collected another impressive 59 bachelor passes after securing 61 in 2021. Ntsika’s overall pass rate was 82.8%.
Khutliso Daniels maintained its impressive upward trajectory by securing a whopping 88.9% pass rate, including 15 bachelor passes (46.9% of its total passes).
Mary Maters High School secured 32 Bachelor passes (slightly down from 38 in 2021), with an overall pass rate of 81.3%. The school suffered several disruptions last year over teacher shortages and absenteeism.
There was a relatively low number, and proportion of bachelor passes at Graeme College. Just 26 of the 54 passes were at the bachelor level (48.1%) – compared with a high of 48 bachelor passes in 2018.
Passes by school
| SCHOOL | Passes | Fails | Bachelors | Diploma | Certificate | Pass rate |
| Graeme | 54 | 9 | 48.1% (26) | 44.4% (24) | 7.4% (4) | 86% |
| PJ Olivier | 21 | 6 | 28.6% (6) | 52.4% (11) | 19% (4) | 79% |
| Khutliso Daniels | 32 | 4 | 46.9% (15) | 43.8% (14) | 9.4% (3) | 88.9% |
| Mary Waters | 130 | 30 | 24.6% (64) | 51.5% (67) | 23.8% (31) | 81.3% |
| Nathaniel Nyaluza | 39 | 13 | 33.3% (13) | 51.3% (20) | 15.4% (6) | 75% |
| Nombulelo | 159 | 23 | 50.3% (80) | 33.3% (53) | 16.4% (26) | 87.4% |
| Ntsika | 120 | 25 | 49.2% (59) | 33.3% (40) | 17.5% (21) | 82.8% |
| TEM Mrwetyana | 32 | 11 | 9.4% (3) | 25% (8) | 65.6% (21) | 74.4% |
| Victoria Girls | 77 | 0 | 92.2% (71) | 7.8% (6) | 0% | 100% |
| TOTAL | 664 | 121 | 336 | 243 | 116 | 84.6% |
In 2021, the nine schools produced 550, with 313 bachelor passes (56.9% of all passes). In 2022, the number of passes went up to 664, but the 305 bachelor passes amounted to a lower percentage (45.9%) of all passes.
Bachelor passes (formerly ‘matric exemption’) over time
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Graeme College | 43 | 40 | 46 | 25 | 41 | 37 | 26 |
| Khutliso Daniels | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 25 | 15 |
| Mary Waters | 13 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 38 | 64 |
| Nathaniel Nyaluza | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 13 |
| Nombulelo | 7 | 14 | 34 | 28 | 23 | 43 | 80 |
| Ntsika | 22 | 22 | 36 | 28 | 46 | 61 | 59 |
| PJ Olivier | 13 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 15 |
| TEM Mrwetyana | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Victoria Girls | 64 | 78 | 74 | 63 | 67 | 75 | 71 |
| Total | 171 | 197 | 238 | 187 | 230 | 313 | 336 |
The three National Senior Certificate pass requirements are as follows:
Higher certificate pass requirements
A candidate must pass at least 6 out of 7 subjects and obtain the following:
- At least 40% in your Home Language
- At least 40% in two other subjects
- At least 30% for four other subjects
Diploma pass requirements
A candidate must pass at least 6 out of 7 subjects and obtain the following:
- At least 40% for your Home Language
- At least 40% for three other subjects, excluding Life Orientation
- At least 30% in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) of the tertiary institution (Higher Education Institution)
The candidate who achieves a Diploma pass qualifies to apply for a diploma at a TVET college or University of Technology.
Bachelor’s Degree pass requirements
To achieve a bachelor’s Degree pass, a candidate must pass at least 6 out of 7 subjects and obtain:
- At least 40% for your Home Language (compulsory)
- At least 50% for four other subjects, excluding Life Orientation
- At least 30% in Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT) of the tertiary (Higher Education) institution
- At least 30% for one other subject.
A Bachelor’s pass makes a candidate eligible for a degree at a university, university of technology, TVET college, or any accredited Higher Learning Institution.
Watch for a complete analysis of this year’s matric results by Gadra Education manager Dr Ashley Westaway next week.
