“The pass requirements for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) are equivalent if not higher than the old senior certificates,” she said yesterday when announcing the matric examination results.
Motshekga addressed recent concerns raised regarding pass requirements.
She said the NSC requires that a candidate pass seven subjects while the old senior certificates required six.
“In the old system, a candidate could perform extremely well in one or two subjects and obtain 25%, not 30%, in the remaining subjects and still pass if he/she had satisfied the 720 aggregate requirement.”
With the NSC a matriculant must pass three subjects at 40% and three at 30%. One must be a home language passed at 40%.
“But to put the matter to rest, I’m setting up a ministerial committee to investigate and recommend accordingly,” she said.
Motshekga also said she is concerned about the quality of markers and will promulgate policy in this regard this year.
Motshekga said the matric results over the past four years showed there was progress in education.