The Western Cape might only be third in the 2018 matric league table‚ but its education MEC says it’s streets ahead of the rest of the country where it really matters. Debbie Schäfer issued a ranking on January 4 2019 depicting provincial success at keeping the Grade 10s of 2016 in school so they could make up the matric class of 2018. “The real matric pass rate factors in the retention rate‚” said Schäfer‚ pointing out that the Western Cape retention rate of 62.9% beat Gauteng‚ which came second with 49.67%‚ by more than 13 percentage points. Free State‚ which was second in the matric ranking‚ is bottom of Schäfer’s retention rate table‚ with 40%.

“The Western Cape government has always maintained that indicators of quality go well beyond the overall pass rate‚” said the MEC. “We focus on the quality of the passes and the retention of as many learners as possible in the school system so that we can ensure the best possible opportunities for our young people.” The MEC was also...

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