The Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, has commended all NSC 2023 learners who are recipients of Sassa grants for passing their exams.
Of the 897 775 Grade 12 learners who wrote their NSC, 543 786 full-time learners were social grant beneficiaries, with 62 out of 110 social grants beneficiaries amongst the top performing learners in different categories as awarded by the Department of Basic Education.
Sassa grant beneficiaries were recorded as the majority of learners who wrote their matric exams and 441 871 learners passed, which is an overall pass rate of 82, 9%.Minister Zulu said the beneficiaries received bachelor passes which affords them the opportunity to be tertiary students.
"The child support grant formed the biggest grant type received by these learners, with the majority of them from KwaZulu-Natal, the second-best performing province after Free State."
She country?s Constitution, through the Child Justice Act, obligates the state to provide care and support services to children in conflict with the law, including educational opportunities.
?Providing educational opportunities for children in conflict with the law is a key element of rehabilitating and re-integrating them back into society. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (the CRC), which South Africa ratified in 1995, recognises the importance of education for children in conflict with the law?, said Minister Zulu.
Zulu said grant beneficiaries will in no doubt be funded by NSFAS to further their tertiary education.
?The benefits of social grants extend beyond individual beneficiaries to broader society. Our government's pro-poor policies such as our social assistance programme, no-fee schools, school nutrition, school uniforms, free health care including sanitary dignity packs have made significant improvements over the past 30 years in reducing poverty by bridging the education gap for learners from impoverished backgrounds. We will continue to build on the success of these impactful interventions that have lifted many of our people out of poverty," added Minister Zulu.
