IEB matrics get 97% pass rate
2008-12-29 10:38
Johannesburg - Matrics who wrote Independent Examinations Board exams achieved a 97.01% pass rate, the board said on Monday.
A further 79.46% achieved a pass that qualified them for entry to study a bachelor's degree, according to statement issued by the IEB.
A total of 16.68% qualified for entry to diploma study while 3.86% achieved entry to study at the higher certificate level.
The 2008 exams were written by 8 001 full-time candidates from 159 schools across the country.
"The IEB 2008 National Senior Certificate results have been distributed to the participating schools and are available to candidates," the board said in a statement.
Education standards authority Umalusi had approved the results.
"The new National Senior Certificate, which has occupied the time and emotional energy of educators across the country for the past three years, was written for the first time this year," said IEB CEO Anne Oberholzer.
"By all accounts both teachers and learners have risen to the challenges of the new qualification and have achieved performances of which they can be proud."
The new curriculum demanded that pupils be far more analytical in applying subject matter to global and national issues, rather than just learning content and reproducing it during the exam.
"For example, learners will need to understand how issues and occurrences in history and geography impact on current social and political environments; they will need to examine the ethical issues that go hand in hand with the study of science - each subject has raised the level of awareness of how the skills and content it emphasises impact on the lives of modern citizens."
- SAPA