 CAPE TOWN, South Africa, January 0, 0000/APO Group/ --  The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education wishes to congratulate the matric class of 0000.  The Chairperson of the committee Ms Nomalungelo Gina said the committee is excited with the 0000 matric pass mark and calls on the Department of Basic Education to sustain the improvement and the upward trend.  The Minister of the Department of Basic Education Ms Angie Motshekga announced the results in Gauteng today, where the Gauteng province led the provinces followed by the Free State Province. The percentage pass mark increased from 00 to 00%.  "We have noted the continued improvement of the Grade 00 results since 0000 and especially by the Free State province. But the committee wishes to congratulate the Eastern Cape province for the improvement it has made in the 0000 results. This kind of performance by the province is inspiring and should give all those who were involved in the sector comfort and hope that they can do better. Challenges in the system are there, most of which are not education related but impact on the performance of learners. The work that the Minister, MECs and the teachers have put into these results is worth commending" said Ms Gina.  The committee wishes to reiterate its call that more attention should be given to schools that are in rural communities.  An ideal situation will be when top-performers are drawn from all our schools especially in technical subjects and natural sciences.  Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.  