South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, matriculation (or matric) is the final year of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and the qualification received on graduating from high school, and the minimum university entrance requirements. The first formal examination was conducted in South Africa under the

University of the Cape of Good Hope The University of the Cape of Good Hope, renamed the University of South Africa in 1916, was created when the Molteno government passed Act 16 of 1873 in the Cape of Good Hope Parliament. Modelled on the University of London, it offered examinati ...

in 1858. In general usage, the school-leaving exams, which are government-administered, are known as the "matric exams"; by extension, students in the final year of high school (

grade 12 Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

) are known as "matriculants" or, more commonly, "matrics". Once the Matric year has been passed, students are said to have "matriculated". See .

Qualification

Officially, the qualification obtained at the end of secondary schooling is the

National Senior Certificate In South Africa, matriculation (or matric) is the final year of high school and the qualification received on graduating from high school, and the minimum university entrance requirements. The first formal examination was conducted in South Africa ...

, and the school-leaving examinations are the "Senior Certificate Examinations". The

can be completed through either the Department of Education or the

Independent Examination Board Independent Examinations Board The Independent Examinations Board, or IEB, is a South African independent assessment agency which offers examinations for various client schools, mostly private schools. It is most prominent in setting examinations ...

. Students who fulfill certain requirements (an achievement rating of 4 (50% - 59%) or better in four (4) designated subjects) in their Senior Certificate results receive a Matriculation Endorsement/Bachelor's Pass on their certificates; this endorsement is the minimum requirement for admission to a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

at any South African university, set by the Department of Basic Education. Students applying to a South African university with foreign school qualifications can obtain a "Matriculation Exemption" to show that they meet the same standards. This multiple meaning can lead to confusion; for example, the statement that a person "passed matric" or "has their matric" may mean either that they received a Senior Certificate (i.e. they finished high school) or specifically that they received a Senior Certificate with Matriculation Endorsement (i.e. they are eligible to enter university). South African universities do not set their own entrance examinations, although many use standardized entrance tests of linguistic, numerical and mathematical ability, called the National Benchmark Tests, split into the AQL Test (Academic and Quantitative Literacy) and the Mathematics Test. Before the 1990s, the standard Matric Certificate with Endorsement was worded as "Examination result - Passed with full exemption". This wording meant that the candidate passed their NSC exams with exemption from entrance exams when applying for University entrance. As of 2005, the new passing standards are Certificate, Diploma, and Bachelor.

National Senior Certificate

The National Senior Certificate or NSC is the current

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

(matric) certificate, with grade 12 as the matriculation grade. The NSC, previously known as the Further Education and Training Certificate or FETC, replaced the Senior Certificate effectively in 2008, having been phased in with grade 10 in 2006.

Curriculum

Students study at least seven subjects: two of the eleven official South African languages one of which must be at "home language" level, either Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy, Life Orientation, and three elective subjects. Students have the option of either taking the NSC (National Senior Certificate) or the NCV (National Certificate Vocational).

Standards

Subjects are taken on the same level – the earlier higher/standard grade split is obsolete. The three pass levels have different requirements. The higher certificate requires 40% or higher in the home language as well as in two other subjects and at least 30% in three other subjects. Students who pass the matric with a higher certificate level cannot enroll for a university degree nor a diploma at any institution of higher learning. The mean mark in any subject is approximately 55. Only a small proportion of candidates score an 'A' in any subject (from as little as 2% to a maximum of about 10% in subjects taken by highly select groups). A further 8 – 15% are likely to gain a 'B' and about 20 – 25% achieve a 'C' grade. The National Senior Certificate is a group certificate and records an aggregate mark.

Regulations

The

Department of Basic Education The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is one of the departments of the South African government. It oversees primary and secondary education in South Africa. It was created in 2009 after the election of President Jacob Zuma, when the former Dep ...

is responsible for general educational policy to be implemented by nine provincial education departments and private providers such as the

Independent Examinations Board Independent Examinations Board The Independent Examinations Board, or IEB, is a South African independent assessment agency which offers examinations for various client schools, mostly private schools. It is most prominent in setting examinations ...

(IEB). Nine provincial examination boards and three independent boards, of which the IEB is the biggest examine students. The IEB operates on a national level, catering primarily to independent schools.

Subject requirements

Students study at least 7 subjects: 4 compulsory and 3-4 optional. All subjects are set at one grade only and are no longer set at Higher or Standard Grade. Not all schools offer the full range of elective subjects as listed here. Each school may offer subjects specific to its academic orientation. For example, agriculture schools will offer agriculture-oriented subjects whereas technical schools will offer practical and mechanical-oriented subjects.

Group A: Fundamentals (Compulsory)

Learners must study 4 compulsory subjects: *Two of the

official languages of South Africa An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

(at least one must be at the home language level): **

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Ndebele Ndebele may refer to: *Southern Ndebele people, located in South Africa *Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe and Botswana Languages * Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele *Northern Ndebele language Northern ...

Northern Sotho Northern Sotho, or as an endonym, is a Sotho-Tswana language spoken in the northeastern provinces of South Africa. It is sometimes referred to as or , its main dialect, through synecdoche. According to the South African National Census o ...

Southern Sotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free Sta ...

Swazi Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa * Swazi language * Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked coun ...

Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) i ...

Tswana Tswana may refer to: * Tswana people, the Bantu speaking people in Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and other Southern Africa regions * Tswana language, the language spoken by the (Ba)Tswana people * Bophuthatswana, the former ba ...

Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

** Zulu *Mathematics, Mathematical Literacy, or Technical Mathematics *Life Orientation

Group B: Electives

Learners must also study at least 3 subjects from the following: *Accounting *Agricultural Management Practices *Agricultural Sciences *Agricultural Technology *Business Studies *Civil Technology *Computer Applications Technology (previously Computer Studies ''Standard Grade'' - Literacy) *Consumer Studies *Dance Studies *Design *Dramatic Arts *Economics *Electrical Technology *Engineering Graphics & Design *Geography *History *Hospitality Studies (previously Home Economics) *Information Technology (previously Computer Studies ''Higher Grade'' - Programming) *Life Sciences (previously Biology) *Mechanical Technology *Music *Physical Science *Religion Studies *Second Additional Language *Third Additional Language *Tourism *Visual Arts

Life Orientation

Life Orientation (colloquially abbreviated as "LO") has been introduced into the senior high school phase as an examination subject and is designed to cover non-academic skills needed in everyday life such as: *World of Work, helping learners find guidance in their choice of career and prepare them for the working world *

Health Education Health education is a profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health, as well as sexual and r ...

covers topics such as

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual acti ...

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

Aids Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

, pregnancy, etc. *

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

, physical exercise and training (done on a separate basis but eventually forms part of the Life Orientation mark) *

Religious Education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...

, as mandated by the South African Schools Act, students may request to be exempted from classes about specific religions i.e. Bible Studies. Those who do so remain obligated to attend the general Religious Studies class. * Citizenship and Responsibility, explain to students their rights and duties as citizens.

Assessment

There are three types of subjects:

General Subjects

*An end-of-year examination: ''75% of the total mark'' *Portfolio (Continuous Assessment): ''25% of the total mark''

Practical Subjects

*An end-of-year examination: ''50% of the total mark'' *Portfolio (Continuous Assessment): ''25% of the total mark'' *Practical component: ''25% of the total mark''

Language Subjects

*An end-of-year examination: ''50% of the total mark'' *Portfolio (Continuous Assessment): ''25% of the total mark'' *Oral Examination: ''25% of the total mark'' Continuous Assessment (CASS) includes all the tests, examinations, tasks, activities, orals and projects done throughout the year. Results are usually out of 400 marks.

Level system (1 to 7)

* Level 7: 80 - 100% (Outstanding achievement) * Level 6: 70 - 79% (Meritorious achievement) * Level 5: 60 -69% (Substantial achievement) * Level 4: 50 - 59% (Moderate achievement) * Level 3: 40 - 49% (Adequate achievement) * Level 2: 30 - 39% (Elementary achievement) * Level 1: 0 - 29% (Not achieved - Fail)

Language compensation

Language compensation attempts to adjust for the difficulties faced by students whose mother tongue is neither English nor Afrikaans. It is described by several sources: *"To the final mark is added the language compensation, which is 5% of the mark attained by the candidate for all non-language subjects, for candidates whose mother tongue is not English or Afrikaans. The 5% compensates learners for the disadvantage suffered by these candidates being instructed in a language that is not their mother tongue." *"The compensation applies to learners whose first language is neither English nor Afrikaans and who offer an African language as their first language. They receive an additional 5% on their non-language subjects. The measure was first introduced in 1999 by the South African Certification Council." *Dr. Sizwe Mabizela, Chairperson of Council, Umalusi has provided a further explanation: "This is the most misunderstood concept in this country. In terms of the policy on language compensation, learners who offer an African language as Home Language and do not offer Afrikaans or English as Home language qualify for a 5% language compensation on the mark they have obtained in a non-language subject. For example a learner who obtains a mark of zero (0) out of 300 will obtain 5% of zero (which is zero) for language compensation; a learner who obtains 10 out of 300 will receive 5% of 10, which is 0,5 marks, for language compensation; a learner who obtains 100 out of 300 marks will obtain an additional 5 marks for language compensation." This kind of compensation impacts pass rates, but provides a significant impact at the upper end of the scale, affecting those applying for admission to university. For example, a qualifying learner obtaining 95% would receive 95 x 1.05 = 99.75% (which rounds to 100%). A learner obtaining 40% would receive 40 x 1.05 = 42.0%.

University entrance

In addition to minimum grades required in each subject, universities either set their entrance tests and/or use the National Benchmark Tests (NBT). To study for a bachelor's degree at a South African university requires that the applicant has at least an NSC endorsed by Umalusi, with a pass of 30% in the chosen university's language of learning and teaching, as well as a level 4 or higher in the following list of designated, 19-credit subjects: * Accounting * Agricultural Sciences * Business Studies * Dramatic Arts * Economics * Electrical Technology * Engineering Graphics and Design * Geography * History * Consumer Studies * Information Technology * Languages (one language of learning and teaching at a higher education institution and two other recognized language subjects) * Life Sciences * Mathematics * Mathematical Literacy * Music * Physical Sciences * Religion Studies * Visual Arts

References

External links

Department of Education official site
*{{official website, http://www.ieb.co.za IEB Education in South Africa Secondary school qualifications