Gauteng saw a drop in the number of registered matric candidates to those who sat for the exams last year.

The province had 132,856 enrolled matriculants but only 127,523 sat for the exams.

The province received 47,358 distinctions. 

Education MEC and premier are set to speak at the announcement of the provincial matric results at the Birchwood Hotel in Kempton Park, on the East Rand, on Friday.  The province's top performing pupils will be honoured at the event.

The province achieved an 82.8% pass rate, recording a slight decrease from 83.2% in 2020.

Head of department Edward Mosuwe said the day was about celebrating a group of learners who demonstrated resilience in the midst of challenges. 

“This class is a testimony of what you can do when you are faced with challenges. We also came here to acknowledge their teachers who prepared them to face the world despite the challenges they were faced with,” Mosuwe said.