Johannesburg - Parliament says more attention should be given to schools in rural communities to bring them on par with those in urban areas.
The legislature's portfolio committee on basic education applauded the 78.2 percent pass mark from the 2018 high school finishing matric exams, urging the department of basic education to sustain the improvement and the upward trend dating to 2014.
"The committee wishes to reiterate its call that more attention should be given to schools that are in rural communities," it said in a statement issued late on Thursday.
The results announced by basic education minister Angie Motshekga showed the best results came from schools in the economic hub of Gauteng province, followed by the Free State.
The parliamentary committee noted that the Eastern Cape province had made a significant improvement.
"Challenges in the system are there, most of which are not education related but impact on the performance of learners," it said.
An ideal situation for the country would be when top matric performers were drawn from all schools especially in technical subjects and natural sciences, the parliament committee added.