According to the Basic Education Department's EMIS database, there has been a steady retention rate in public schools by gender and grade. However, there has been a notable decrease in learner attendance by grade, particularly grades 10, 11 and 12.
Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga stated that out of the 1.1 million learners who entered Grade 1 in 2010, over 733 178 enrolled for the 2021 National Senior Certificate matric examinations.
This means that 66.7% of the learners who accessed Grade 1 in 2010, manage to complete their schooling. Motshekga also pointed out that the number of matriculants increased from 579 384 in 2010 to 733 198 in 2021.
She also pointed out that 96% of Grade 12 learners wrote their matric exam in 2021. However, increasing school dropout rates is still a prevailing crisis in South Africa as a survey conducted by the National Income Dynamic Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey(NIDS-CRAM) revealed the school dropout rate tripled from 230 000 to 750 000 in May 2021.
There are civic organisations that have been working on practical preventative measures to combat the country’s deteriorating school dropout rate. One of them is the Zero Drop Out campaign, an organisation that aims to use research-based solutions to half the country's school dropout rate by 2030.
