South Africa’s grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate has increased from 78.2% in 2018 to 81.3% for the class of 2019, which is the highest it’s been in 25 years. The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric class of 2019 achieved a pass rate of 98.82% – slightly down from the 98.92% registered in 2018.
Department of Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga announced the 2019 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam outcome on Tuesday evening in Midrand.
Motshekga said the top performing province was the Free State at 88.4%, followed by Gauteng with 87.2%, North West (86.8%), Western Cape (82.3%). KwaZulu-Natal (81.3%), Mpumalanga (80.3%), Eastern Cape and Northern Cape (both 76.5%) and Limpopo (73.2%).
A total of 790,405 candidates wrote the 2019 examinations at 7,416 examination centers during October and November last year. The department also conducted examinations for 212 pupils at correctional facilities. “It is really a very large system, we had 147 question papers. There were 7.6-million scripts that were distributed to the examination centers,” said Motshekga.
The number of candidates achieving admission to Bachelor’s Degree programs increased from 172,043 in 2018 to 186,058.
However, Nomsa Marches, DA’s Shadow Minister of Basic Education, said that a total of 1 052 080 learners were enrolled in grade 10, yet only 409 906 learners eventually passed matric last year. Therefore, the pass rate does not reflect the quality of the education system in South Africa, as more than half of learners are dropping out before getting to grade 12.
The Western Cape is the province with the lowest drop-out rate (33.4%) and therefore the highest real pass rate, standing at 54.8%. The Free State’s real pass rate only stands at 38.4%.
“Every child has the right to quality basic education”, Marches said.
You can view the results on the DBE’s website here.
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].
World Bank Cuts South African GDP Growth Forecast Due to Eskom’s Load Shedding
The World Bank is the first key institution to cut its economic growth forecast for South Africa to below 1% for 2020 due to electricity supply concerns.
It now expects the economy to expand by 0.9% this year, the Washington-based lender said Wednesday in its Global Economic Prospects report. That compares with an estimate of 1% in its Africa Pulse report released in October and is well below government forecasts. Its outlook for Africa’s most-industrialized economy is “markedly weaker” because it sees electricity supply and infrastructure constraints inhibiting domestic growth with weaker global economic conditions weighing on export demand.
The bank’s revision comes as Eskom which generates about 95% of the country’s electricity, resumes rolling blackouts earlier than expected. The power cuts threaten to drag on an economy stuck in the longest downward cycle since 1945 and that hasn’t expanded by more than 2% annually since 2013.
The debt-laden power utility, described by Goldman Sachs Group as the biggest threat to South Africa’s economy, put the country at risk of a second recession in as many years after it implemented the most severe power cuts to date in December. Gross domestic product growth likely slowed to 0.4% in 2019, the World Bank said.
The World Bank sees GDP growth averaging 1.4% in 2021-22 if President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration is able to ramp up structural reforms and address policy uncertainty, and if there’s a recovery in public and private sector investment.
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].
South African Parental Leave Benefits Amended
Under the Basic Condition of Employment Act (BCEA), employees who wish to access the revised parental leave benefits of 10 days per annum are now able to do so with full rights. These revised benefits, published on 23 December 2019 in Gazette 42925, came into effect on 1 January 2020. It clarifies the confusion that arose when employees were allowed to claim parental leave of up to 10 days under the Unemployment Insurance Act (UIA) from 1 November 2019, but since there was no corresponding amendment to the BCEA, employers were not under a legal obligation to provide the 10 days of parental leave under the BCEA – only the statutory three days.
Under the BCEA, employees will be able to access parental leave of up to 10 days each year. In cases of legally recognized adoption of children under two years of age and commissioning parental leave agreements, one of the partners will be able to access up to 10 weeks’ adoption or commissioning parental leave.
Adoption benefits already form part of the UI Act but it appears that the right to access commissioning parental leave of up to 10 consecutive weeks per annum will only be system-ready in the UI context from 1 April 2020 when the systems have passed user acceptance testing in this regard.
Amendment inclusions
The amendments include paying for maternity benefits at 66% of the employee’s rate of payment. Unemployment, illness adoption and dependent benefits can also be claimed for up to a full year at the proportions stipulated rather than for the previous 238 days. In most instances, the period within which to claim benefits has been extended from six months to 12 months. Another example of the more beneficial provisions is that illness benefits can be claimed for an illness of more than seven days, previously 14 days.
There is little doubt that these amendments will provide more considerable assistance to employees and the growing number of unemployed. However, employers will have to pay greater attention to their workforce planning requirements as they may well experience higher levels of absenteeism across the parental, adoption and commissioning parental scenarios.
Employers need to amend their human resources policies and procedures in respect of parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave as soon as possible.
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].
South African Grade 12 NSC Pass Rate for 2019 Is 81.3%, However Drop Out Rates Remain High
South Africa’s grade 12 National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate has increased from 78.2% in 2018 to 81.3% for the class of 2019, which is the highest it’s been in 25 years. The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric class of 2019 achieved a pass rate of 98.82% – slightly down from the 98.92% registered in 2018.
Department of Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga announced the 2019 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam outcome on Tuesday evening in Midrand.
Motshekga said the top performing province was the Free State at 88.4%, followed by Gauteng with 87.2%, North West (86.8%), Western Cape (82.3%). KwaZulu-Natal (81.3%), Mpumalanga (80.3%), Eastern Cape and Northern Cape (both 76.5%) and Limpopo (73.2%).
A total of 790,405 candidates wrote the 2019 examinations at 7,416 examination centers during October and November last year. The department also conducted examinations for 212 pupils at correctional facilities. “It is really a very large system, we had 147 question papers. There were 7.6-million scripts that were distributed to the examination centers,” said Motshekga.
The number of candidates achieving admission to Bachelor’s Degree programs increased from 172,043 in 2018 to 186,058.
However, Nomsa Marches, DA’s Shadow Minister of Basic Education, said that a total of 1 052 080 learners were enrolled in grade 10, yet only 409 906 learners eventually passed matric last year. Therefore, the pass rate does not reflect the quality of the education system in South Africa, as more than half of learners are dropping out before getting to grade 12.
The Western Cape is the province with the lowest drop-out rate (33.4%) and therefore the highest real pass rate, standing at 54.8%. The Free State’s real pass rate only stands at 38.4%.
“Every child has the right to quality basic education”, Marches said.
You can view the results on the DBE’s website here.
For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].
SA Home Affairs Has Extended Business Hours for Part of January
The South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced that it will be extending its operating hours from 2 – 11 January 2019 to keep up with demand over the busy holiday period. In a statement released recently, the DHA said that several of its offices across the country will operate from 07h00 to 19h00.
The department said the decision to extend operating hours came after long queues were experienced in some centers at the same time last year.
“Extending office hours at large offices and selected medium offices will help ensure citizens and clients are not turned away before receiving the services they require,” said department spokesperson Siya Qoza. “This will assist also in managing queues so that people do not spend a long time waiting to be served.”
Qoza further urged citizens to use this opportunity to collect their Smart ID cards if they have received a notification.
“Those who have not applied for their smart ID cards are encouraged to capitalize on the extended hours and accordingly apply with speed, ahead of the general elections,” he said. “All other services will be offered, including applications for and collection of passports and registration of births, marriages and deaths”.
You can find a full list of offices which will offer extended business hours here.
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For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.
Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].