BASIC Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the country should focus on the number of matriculants that achieved university entrances rather than the few who performed below 40%.

Speaking yesterday at an awards ceremony for the top performers in Gauteng, Motshekga said: "In the whole country there are only 285 candidates that have passed with between 30% and 40%. Honestly, it is not a crisis because we have 300000 candidates that qualified to study for bachelors degrees.

"People should not panic," added Motshekga, who said her department was left with only 18 months to deliver on the promises she had made in 2011.

At the time, she said the objectives of the action plan to 2014 were :

lIncreasing the number of pupils who pass mathematics and physical science in Grade 12;

lIncreasing the number of Grade 12 pupils who become eligible for a bachelors programme at a university;

lEnsuring that all children remain effectively enrolled in school up to the year in which they turn 15;

lImproving access to quality early childhood development below Grade 1; and

lImproving access to further education and training beyond Grade 9.

At the ceremony, Gauteng MEC for education Barbara Creecy said she was proud that the province had achieved the highest pass rate at 83.9%.

"This year, 71% of learners passed mathematics compared to 61% in 2011, with a 25% increase in distinctions, to 1817. The pass rate in physical science improved by 10%, to 70%."

Hoërskool Waterkloof in Pretoria was the best performing school in the province.

Creecy also congratulated township schools, especially those in the Soweto area, for improving.

"There is significant and extremely pleasing improvement in the results from what has traditionally been one of our most challenging districts, Johannesburg Central, which includes Soweto.

"Of the seven learners who obtained 100% in mathematics, no fewer than six are from township schools. Township schools have produced 7284 distinctions, compared with 6109 distinctions in 2011."

The number of pupils qualifying for university had gone up from 30037 to 32449 this year. - monamat@sowetan.co.za