The Grade 12 results for the province of KwaZulu-Natal moved up to 73.1% in 2012. This means that KwaZulu-Natal improved its results by 5%, from 68.1% in 2011 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.
It was excitement, glitz and glamour at the Chief Albert Luthuli Convention Centre (ICC) when the MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Senzo Mchunu, announced the results to a capacity filled hall in Durban on 3 January 2013.
Even though the results improved in this manner, the MEC said there is still a lot of work to be done. "Good as these results may be, they still pose a huge challenge in terms of quality in various aspects – they also indicate the need for more hard work," said MEC Mchunu. The MEC was also happy with the improvement recorded in gateway subjects. "We are also pleased to announce that the province recorded some improvements in pass percentages in two gateway subjects – Mathematics and Physical Science. Whereas in 2011 the pass percentage was 39.5% in maths, in 2012 improved to 48.1% while in Physical Science, we improved from 51.9% in in 2011 to 58.3% in 2012," said MEC Mchunu.
The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize, congratulated the province on its improvement and stressed on the non-negotiable. "Teachers should ensure that they are in class, on time teaching," he said. He said much as they will always be some sort of conflict or the other in the workplace, all stakeholders should put the interest of learners above all else.
Out of 127 258 learners who wrote, 93 033 passed their matric. Of the 93 00 candidates that achieved, a total of 92 894 candidates qualify for admission to institutions of higher learning with a total of 34 779 candidates being able to be admitted straight to University and 36841 learners qualifying to pursue a diploma. This leaves a fraction of 21274 legible to pursue certificate courses at the institutions of Higher Learning. "It is also encouraging to note that no district performed below 65%," said MEC Mchunu
Districts in the order of performance:
| Umlazi | 79.9% |
| Amajuba | 77.7% |
| Pinetown | 77.4% |
| Umgungundlovu | 74.7% |
| Uthukela | 73.2% |
| Zululand | 72.5% |
| Ugu | 72.0% |
| Umzinyathi | 70.8% |
| Ilembe | 70.3% |
| Sisonke | 68.9% |
| Uthungulu | 67.2% |
| Umkhanyakude | 65.2% |
