Matric Class of 2025 achieves unprecedented 88% pass rate

Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube announced a record national pass rate of 88% for the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams. This figure represents a steady 0.7% increase from 2024. More than 656,000 learners successfully passed their exams, and a record 345,000 of them earned bachelor’s passes despite a minor decline from 48% to 46% in that category.

For the first time, all 75 education districts in South Africa achieved pass rates of above 80%. Gwarube highlighted district performance as a key measure of system-wide progress versus isolated pockets, affirming growing stability while calling for intensified efforts toward equality, particularly in gateway subjects.

Provincial rankings

• 1st: KwaZulu-Natal – 90.6%;
• 2nd: Free State – 89.33%;
• 3rd: Gauteng – 89.06%;
• 4th: North West – 88.49%;
• 5th: Western Cape – 88.2%;
• 6th: Northern Cape – 87.79% (largest improvement);
• 7th: Mpumalanga – 86.5%;
• 8th: Limpopo – 86.15%; and
• 9th: Eastern Cape – 84.17%.

State of the education system

Gwarube began her address by speaking plainly about the health of South Africa’s education system, its progress, areas where quality improvement was required, and the need for strengthened foundations. She said education had long shaped South Africa’s national story, driving opportunity and social mobility across generations, with today’s system reflecting that history alongside the unfinished push for equity. Marked by deep inequality, she said, education is the country’s strongest tool for fostering cohesion.

“South Africans, we cannot be content to keep the system running with its deepest problems remaining untouched. We must choose a new course for basic education, and that new course has already begun with evidence-based reform focused on quality learning and teaching,” she said.

Gwarube said that to grasp the scale of the education reforms required, the system’s size needed to be taken into account: it serves about 13.5 million learners, backed by more than 460,000 educators at nearly 25,000 schools, managed through hundreds of circuit offices, 75 districts and nine provincial departments.

The 2025 NSC examinations were among the largest and most complex operations in the country, with more than 900,000 candidates writing exams at about 6,000 centres. Millions of scripts were set, printed, written, marked and quality-assured, with irregularities swiftly investigated and addressed, and weaknesses addressed by strengthened controls and consequence management.

Gwarube confronted the persistent myth of a 30% matric pass mark, urging leaders and the public to abandon misconceptions that undermine learner confidence.

“Not every single learner who attends a school intends to go to obtain a university degree. Some intend to obtain skills in the world of work, some intend on doing different things, which our education system allows. When we use this sloganism, we discourage learners who are differently talented in the system,” she said.

Journey of the Class of 2025

Gwarube traced the story of the Class of 2025 from its origins in 2014, highlighting the resilience of these young learners who persevered through tough times, including the Covid-19 disruptions during their Grade 8 year.

Retention rates remained robust at 84% from Grade 1 through Grade 10 for this cohort, reflecting steady progression for most learners. However, dropout rates sharpened significantly between grades 11 and 12, reducing the initial 1.2 million starters in 2014 to 778,000 full-time NSC candidates in 2025.

Despite this narrowing, several encouraging stability indicators emerged: a higher proportion of age-appropriate 18-year-olds sat for the exams this year, the share of registered learners who did not write dropped dramatically from 17% in 2017 to only 2%, and the number of part-time candidates continued to decline, signalling improved system retention and exam participation overall.

Subject performance and challenges

Gwarube addressed subject choices by the Class of 2025, highlighting persistent foundational weaknesses. Only 34% of candidates wrote the pure mathematics exam, while the majority opted for mathematical literacy. Enrolment increased encouragingly in gateway subjects like mathematics, accounting, physical sciences and technical areas, yet performance had not kept pace, she explained.

The system showed growth but lagged in delivering quality outcomes in subjects shaping access to scarce skills. Mathematics pass rates dropped from 69% to 64%, the accounting pass rate fell from 81% to 78%, and physical sciences edged up slightly to 77%. “More learners writing doesn’t always mean better results,” Gwarube cautioned.

Weak early foundations amplify these gaps, as learners without solid basics struggle in advanced subjects. “This is a lesson for the country. If we open gateway pathways, we must ensure that learners have the foundational skills required to take on gateway subjects ... not only to take them on, but to succeed in them,” she stated.

The number of learners with special learning needs enrolled for the 2025 NSC exams surged by 57%, reflecting strong gains in both participation and achievement. Progress extended beyond enrolment, as significantly more learners with special education needs not only wrote the exams but also passed and secured admission to bachelor’s programmes. The biggest increases occurred in the Free State and Western Cape. Gwarube said she was committed to sustaining this momentum, emphasising collaborative efforts to replicate these successes nationwide.

Challenges persist, particularly in making South African Sign Language widely accessible as a medium of learning and teaching. Too few trained specialists teach gateway subjects through sign language. “In a country committed to dignity and inclusion, we cannot stop at just producing an exam paper,” Gwarube stressed. “It must extend to accessing a full curriculum, including gateway subjects in sign language.”

Pass quality and district success

Gwarube urged a focus on pass quality, which directly shapes post-school opportunities through distinguishing between bachelor’s, diploma and higher certificate passes. While the national bachelor’s pass percentage dipped slightly from 48% to 46%, the absolute number of learners achieving bachelor’s passes surged by 8,700 to a record-breaking 345,000. A further 28% secured diploma passes, and 13.5% earned higher certificate passes.

For the first time, all 75 districts achieved pass rates of 80% and above, a system-wide breakthrough. “I could not be prouder of these people who drive quality every single day in the districts, ensuring that policy is reflected in the classroom,” said Gwarube, honouring district leaders.

Accounting pass rates declined slightly from 81% to 78%, mathematics from 69% to 64%, while physical sciences saw a modest rise from 76% to 77%.

Gwarube delivered a powerful national message of hope, emphasising that poverty does not dictate destiny and origins do not seal fates. For many young people, bachelor’s passes represent far more than an opened door; they rewrite family legacies.

“It may mean the first university graduate in that home, the first teacher, the first lawyer, the first doctor, the first engineer, the first scientist,” she said.

More than 66% of bachelor’s passes came from candidates at no-fee schools, and more no-fee schools now achieve pass rates between 80% and 100%, signalling equitable progress. “Our task now is to protect what is working and deepen it, to make it durable,” said Gwarube.

Congratulations to the Class of 2025

Gwarube concluded her address with heartfelt congratulations to the Class of 2025. “I say congratulations on breaking the record of the highest pass rate in South Africa,” she proclaimed. “You’ve shown resilience, not only in these examinations, but across the years of learning in a country that has asked much of you. South Africa sees you.”

She offered special praise to learners from no-fee schools. “To the learners of no-fee schools, you have shown the country ... that talent lives everywhere, and that when we strengthen the roots, hope becomes an outcome, but not a slogan,” stated Gwarube.

To every learner who fell short of expectations, she extended encouragement. “You’re not a failure, and your story is not over,” she assured. “There are pathways to improve your results, programmes and second-chance opportunities. What matters now is that you take the next step with the support that you need.”

Finally, Gwarube rallied the nation. “To South Africa, I say this: if we want to plant deeply, we must do so now. If we strengthen the foundations and difficulties, then in years to come, in general, [we will] reap the benefits.” DM