Only 30% of the matric class of 2023 wrote the science exam. About half of those learners who did take the exam got 40% or higher. The pass mark in South Africa is 30%.
This is important because students need to pass 4 subjects with at least 50% to study at a university. And for studying subjects like maths and science at university, you need to get 60% in those subjects in high school.
Only 30% of the learners who wrote science in 2023 managed to pass with 50% or higher, and only 17% got the 60% needed to study a science, technology or engineering degree at university.
This is a worry because the government wants 450,000 students to be ready to study maths and science at university by 2030.
Maths and science degrees fall within the critical skills needed in South Africa for jobs such as engineers, physicists, actuaries and scientists.