Matric results spark debate as ActionSA challenges the ‘real’ 2025 pass rate

South Africa is celebrating another headline-grabbing matric success story, with the Class of 2025 achieving an 88% pass rate, the highest in the country’s history. But beneath the applause, a fierce political debate has erupted over what those numbers really mean for the state of basic education.

The official National Senior Certificate (NSC) results were released on Monday evening by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, showing a slight improvement from 2024’s 87.3%. Social media was quickly filled with congratulatory messages for pupils, teachers and parents but not everyone is convinced the celebration tells the full story.

ActionSA: “The real pass rate is far lower”

ActionSA has thrown cold water on the celebrations, arguing that the government’s figures overlook thousands of learners who never made it to matric.

According to party spokesperson Mathew George, when the results are measured against the 1.14 million learners who entered Grade 10 in 2023, the effective completion rate drops sharply to 57.7%.

“This gap is not theoretical,” George said. “It represents learners lost to dropout, repetition and disengagement long before the final exams. Celebrating shrinking numbers instead of fixing the pipeline is misleading.”

His comments have resonated with many South Africans online, particularly teachers and parents who say the real crisis lies between Grades 10 and 12.

ANC highlights growth in bachelor passes

The ANC has defended the results, calling them a powerful sign of resilience from the largest matric cohort in the country’s history. More than 900,000 candidates wrote the exams in 2025.

ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bengu pointed to the 345,000 bachelor’s passes, an increase of over 8,000 from the previous year, as proof that quality outcomes are improving.

“These results reflect collective effort under difficult conditions,” she said, crediting curriculum recovery programmes and community support, particularly in historically disadvantaged areas.

Opposition parties strike different tones

The DA welcomed the results while acknowledging ongoing challenges, especially learner throughput and poor performance in gateway subjects like Mathematics and Physical Sciences.

The EFF went further, warning that the drop in maths pass rates from 69% to 64% could undermine South Africa’s future workforce if not urgently addressed.

Meanwhile, the MK Party praised the overall achievement but stressed that education reform cannot be separated from broader social inequality.

‘No learner should be written off’

Striking a more compassionate note, the UDM urged government and communities not to abandon learners who didn’t pass.

“No young person should be discarded at the point of disappointment,” said acting secretary-general Zandile Phiri, calling for expanded access to second-chance matric programmes, TVET colleges and skills training.

Beyond the numbers

As families celebrate, reflect or regroup, one thing is clear: the matric results have once again exposed the tension between headline success and lived reality. The debate now shifts from pass rates to what happens before and after, matric, and whether South Africa can truly fix the cracks in its education system.

{Source: The Citizen}

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