The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has taken note of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) results announced this evening by Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga. This announcement follows the 18 January 2022 briefing by Umalusi, wherein they “approve[d] the release of the DBE November 2021 NSC examination results based on available evidence that the examinations were administered largely in accordance with the examination policies and regulations”.

The Matric Class of 2021, which consisted of 897 163 candidates, the largest cohort of NSC candidates to date, achieved a national pass rate of 76.4%. This is an improvement of 0.2% on 2020’s results. Of this cohort, 256 031 learners achieved Bachelor’s passes, with learners from KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng contributing 46% of the total number of Bachelor’s passes.

The IFP would like to congratulate the Matric Class of 2021 on this achievement, despite the unforeseen hardships brought about by the devastating Covid-19 pandemic. We would further like to offer our sincere thanks to the educators who guided these young people in difficult circumstances, as well as the many support staff at schools across South Africa. We would also like to acknowledge the parents, guardians and other family members who offered their support to learners during these challenging times. 

Despite the positive examination results, mention must be made of the isolated incidents of cheating uncovered in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng by Umalusi, which are still under investigation. The IFP would like to echo Umalusi’s call that any student, educator or official implicated in irregularities - such as group copying, and unauthorised access to question papers - must face the full consequences for these criminal acts. We call for increased vigilance in the 2022 examinations, so that any actions that compromise the integrity of the NSC results are stamped out. 

We further take note of the proposed Systemic Evaluation for Grades 3, 6 and 9, planned for February to March 2022, with the goal of assessing impact of Covid-19 on learner competencies. We trust the results of these assessments will help to prevent any further pandemic-induced harm to learning outcomes.

As the IFP, we also welcome the Minister’s announcement of the General Education Certificate (GEC) to be piloted in 2022, which learners will be eligible to receive upon completion of Grade 9. We have long supported the idea of this Grade 9 certificate, as we believe it will provide an added incentive for learners to put in their best efforts at this stage of their school careers. 

In closing, the IFP would like to pay homage to all those learners and educators who lost their lives to Covid-19 during the 2021 school year. May they rest in eternal peace.

Issued by IFP Portfolio Committee Member for Basic Education Sl Ngcobo