2. Background In the 2011 National Senior Certificate examination the Northern Cape Province recorded a 68.8 percent pass which was a decline from a 72.3 percent pass in 2010. Though the Province performed better than the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal, all the districts recorded a decline in the 2011 NSC examination. The lowest performing district was John Taolo Gaetsewe at 51.1 percent while Namaqua was the highest performing at 88.6 percent. The John Taolo Gaetsewe district was amongst the districts that performed below the 59 percent norm required by the Department of Basic Education. However, the Province, in 2009 and 2010 produced the second highest percentage pass of schools nationally with a 100 percent pass at 15.7 percent and 20.1 per cent respectively.