The Republic of Mauritius has registered a pass rate of 85.67% for the Cambridge School Certificate (SC) examinations (June series) as compared to last year’s pass rate of 70.93%. A total of 15 000 students sat for the SC exams, held from 22 March to 11 June 2021, and which were organised under unprecedented circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a revised school calendar. A total of 13 089 students succeeded in these exams. As is the case in the past, the pass rate for girls stands at 87.69% while for boys the pass rate stands at 83.04%.
This announcement was made this afternoon by the Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Hon Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, at a press conference at MITD House, in Phoenix. The SC results for the 2020-21 academic year were announced yesterday. Candidates were able to take cognizance of the results online and Results Slips will be distributed next week.
The Education Minister indicated that for Mauritius, the pass rate is 86.32% as compared to 71.71% for the past exams in 2019 which shows a success rate of 15%. She qualified the improvement as impressive and lauded the good performance. She pointed out that for Rodrigues the pass rate stands at 73.5% as compared to 57% in 2019. Eighteen public and private secondary schools have registered a 100% pass rate and this includes regional colleges as academies, she emphasised.
As for performance in terms of aggregate which has improved, the Minister highlighted that 1386 students have obtained an aggregate of less than 10, and 508 candidates have obtained six aggregates.
Speaking about pass rate subject-wise, the Vice-Prime Minister pointed out that the pass rate for English stands at 94.6%. A significant improvement has been noted in oriental languages and human and social sciences and modern Chinese has registered a 100% pass rate. Best results have also been noted in mathematics and in science subjects and for chemistry, physics and biology the pass rate is above 90%.
The Education Minister also encouraged students to show an interest for STEM subjects given the results registered. In addition, she highlighted that 8142 students have obtained at least five credits. Thus, an additional 2624 students as compared to last year will proceed to Grade 12 and undertake their HSC which represents an increase of 48%.
According to her, despite the difficult situation and circumstances, students have demonstrated the necessary efforts and commitment to do well in their studies and the results speak for themselves. During the lockdown, the Ministry had come forward with its resilience strategy and students had relied on online teaching especially for Grade 10 students and above.
The Minister expressed satisfaction with regards to the pass rate and congratulated all students for their hard work. She likewise lauded the support provided by parents and educators in this achievement. Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun further praised the collaboration of several stakeholders in ensuring the smooth running of the SC exams. She wished students well for their further studies.
The Mauritius Examinations Syndicate (MES) will release, later today, the overall pass rate for the SC exams.
Results for the Cambridge Higher School Certificate are expected on 17 September 2021 and Cambridge will communicate the pre-results in all confidentiality to secondary institutions.