DA's Sakhile Mngadi challenges Maimane on ‘30% matric pass mark’ claims
The DA's Sakhile Mngadi has argued that the motion brought by Mmusi Maimane in Parliament was not aimed at increasing the matric pass mark.
Image: Sakhile Mngadi / TikTok
Democratic Alliance (DA) KwaZulu-Natal education spokesperson Sakhile Mngadi has, in a TikTok video, sharply criticised Build One SA (Bosa) leader Mmusi Maimane, accusing him of “lying” and “grandstanding” about a motion on South Africa’s matric pass requirements.
This follows Parliament’s rejection this week of Maimane’s motion, which sought to reassess the 30% minimum pass requirement in certain Grade 12 subjects. MPs voted 119 against the motion with only 87 in favour, with the ANC, DA, Patriotic Alliance, FF Plus and Al Jama-Ah opposing the proposal.
Maimane framed the vote as a defence of “mediocrity”, saying: “Today we lost the vote to end 30% as a pass mark at any level in our public education system… They hugged incompetence and embraced mediocrity.”
Mngadi, however, says Maimane is misleading the public about both the content of his motion and how the matric pass system works.
“It would be a great disservice to the nation if I didn’t debunk the mistruths by Mmusi Maimane, who starts lying to us by portraying himself as somebody who had proposed a motion… that wanted to raise the matric pass rate from 30% to 50%,” Mngadi said.
He argues that Maimane’s motion did not call for Parliament to raise the pass mark, but rather to create a committee to explore the feasibility of doing so. “The motion does not seek to raise the pass rate from 30% to 50%. The motion is calling for the department and the minister to look into establishing a committee. That is not asking Parliament to vote on taking the pass mark from 30% to 50%,” he said.
Mngadi went further, suggesting Maimane either “doesn’t know what he is trying to do or he is just, with intent, trying to misinform everybody.”
He also challenged widespread perceptions about the 30% benchmark. “The pass rate isn’t 30%. If you get 30% for all your matric subjects… you fail matric,” he stressed, explaining that the system’s tiered structure: certificate, diploma, and bachelor passes serve different learner pathways.
According to Mngadi, the DA and ANC opposed the motion because government has already established the National Education Training Council (NETC), which is researching potential changes to pass requirements.
“The minister announced the NETC, which is already doing just that,” he said. Passing Maimane’s motion, he argued, would merely allow him to “try to claim that he was the one who forced government to up the standards.”
Mngadi warned that abruptly increasing the pass threshold would “exclude hundreds of thousands of learners” from educational opportunities in an unequal society.
“As someone who is in government, you need to govern for all people,” he said, adding that the system is showing improvements and “children in our country are starting to achieve at high levels.”