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The atmosphere at the Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein last week Friday was electric with jubilee as the Free State Education Department retained its national number one position in the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) final exams.
The Free State province obtained a 91% matric pass rate in 2024, up from 89% in 2023; this makes the province an undisputed champion for eight consecutive years with four of its districts obtaining more than 90% pass rate.
Fezile Dabi in the province recorded the highest pass rate at 93.5%; Motheo District came in second with a 92.2% followed by Xhariep at 92.2% as well. Thabo Mofutsanyane obtained a 90.6% pass rate and Letjweleputswa achieved 87.5% pass rate.
The Free State MEC for Education Dr Julia Maboya, accompanied by the number one citizen of the province, Premier Ms MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae celebrated the remarkable achievement on Friday, 17 January 2025, at CUT, with some of the top learners from across the province.
According to Maboya, 32 996 learners passed their matric exams and only 3 254 failed, of which she encouraged to apply for remarking and to enrol at finishing schools to obtain their NSC qualification.
One of the most notable and worth celebrating factors in the province is that, candidates for enrolment with learning barriers increased from 3 100 in 2023 to 4 329 in 2024; an indication that education is transforming and becoming more equal and inclusive.
“Four of our districts achieved a pass rate of above 90% and made it to the top 10 performing districts in the country. In addition to this, Fezile Dabi obtained position two nationally, making it the top district in the province.
Performance of no fee-paying schools and that of fee paying as well as independent schools in the Free State is neck and neck; closing the social class inequality gap,” said MEC Julia Maboya.
“Six of our key subjects obtained position one nationally. Accounting, Geography, Life Sciences and Mathematical Literacy have been position one for more than five years, with Technical Sciences and English FAL obtaining number one for the past three years.
Physical Science, History and Technical Mathematics obtained position two nationally. Unfortunately, Mathematics dropped to position three but obtained its ever highest pass rate of 73.2% in the province,” she continued.
