After Covid-19 and now budget cuts, Western Cape matrics achieve highest pass rates yet

Western Cape MEC for Education David Maynier at the Joe Slovo Secondary School in Khayelitsha on Tuesday, 14 January after learners received their matric results. (Photo: Supplied / Western Cape Education Department)

By Suné Payne

14 Jan 2025

Western Cape matrics beat several obstacles, including education budget cuts and bearing the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic since they began high school. The provincial MEC says they deserve to be celebrated.

The Western Cape has recorded its highest matric pass rate of 86.6%.

On Tuesday, 14 January, while the province’s successful matrics were being celebrated, some political parties raised concerns about provincial education – ongoing budget cuts and unplaced learners. But provincial MEC David Maynier said: “The Class of 2024 should be celebrated for their extraordinary achievements, no matter what the challenges are that face our department.”

On Tuesday night, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube announced a historic national pass rate of 87.3%.

Read more: SA matrics shine with highest national pass rate yet of 87.3%

On Wednesday, provincial MECs, learners and parents gathered at high schools across the country to receive – and celebrate – the results.

Maynier told Daily Maverick: “They deserve to be celebrated. They have worked incredibly hard and their teachers, principals and parents should also be celebrated for the support they have provided to our candidates.”

The African National Congress, the official opposition in the provincial legislature, congratulated matric learners but lamented the province’s result which was below the national 87.3% pass rate.

ANC provincial secretary Neville Delport said this result reflected the DA-led administration’s “lack of commitment to addressing inequality and improving education in poor and working-class communities”.

“Areas in desperate need of funding and support are ignored, further entrenching the divide between the wealthy and the underprivileged.

“The DA’s plan to cut teaching posts will exacerbate this crisis, leaving learners in poorer areas with overcrowded classrooms and fewer opportunities to succeed,” said Delport.

Last year, there was a political back and forth in the province over budget cuts affecting the provincial education department, which prompted Gwarube to hold a meeting with the National Treasury over the budget cuts and shortfalls nationwide.

Read more: Education budget cuts — Gwarube targets graft, SOE bailouts, seeks urgent finance minister meeting

As Daily Maverick reported in September 2024, the Western Cape faced a R3.8-billion budget shortfall. It has implemented budget cuts of R2.5-billion and is seeking to reduce the number of educator posts to help cover the rest of the shortfall.

The Good party, via its representative in the provincial legislature Brett Herron, said despite the overall performance – ranking in fifth place among the nine provinces – “the province did have successes”. The country’s top matric candidate Rayyan Ebrahim was from Pinelands High in Cape Town.

“The sobering reality is that the Western Cape remains a province divided. Learners from less affluent schools, in less privileged areas, face the greatest barriers and the least resources,” said Herron.

“This disparity will be compounded by the province’s looming teacher cuts, which threaten to deepen these inequities.”

He said the reduction in teaching staff “will intensify overcrowded classrooms, limit subject offerings and erode critical learner support, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable students.”

In response, Maynier said, “We have been upfront about the consequences of the current budget cuts, and we will continue to do everything we can to fight for quality education in the Western Cape.”

The MEC said the Western Cape Education Department was “especially proud of our no-fee schools this year, which have achieved dramatic increases in both their pass and bachelor’s pass rates.”

Highlighting the pass rates, Maynier said in a press release after the results became public, that quintile 4 – schools of which some were no-fee – achieved a pass rate of 80.3%. This was an increase of 7.3% over the previous year. Quintile 5 schools (no-fee schools) achieved a pass rate of 82.4%, an increase of 10.7% over the previous year.

Maynier announced that “we have seen a dramatic decrease in the number of schools achieving a pass rate of below 60%,” which is considered to be “underperforming”.

“In 2023, 29 schools were underperforming, and in 2024, there are just five schools that did not achieve a pass rate higher than 60%,” said Maynier.

The department would “support these schools to improve their results in 2025.”

Reasons for improved results

When Daily Maverick asked what led to the province’s highest pass rates yet – despite some learners having begun high school in 2020 when Covid-19 was a deadly reality, Maynier pointed out a few factors, chief among them the Class of 2024.

“They put in the hours and invested in their own futures, and they have reaped the rewards of this investment.

“Our department and schools have also provided support for candidates, which this class has made good use of. As we moved out of the pandemic, that gave our candidates more stability in the final grades than in recent years, added to the stability in the (National Senior Certificate) NSC exam questions over the past few years. So this would have also put learners in a good position to succeed,” he said. DM

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Reasons for improved results