Congratulatory messages have poured in from across the country following the release of the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results, which saw the Matric Class of 2025 achieve a national pass rate of 88%, an improvement from 87.3% in 2024.
On Monday, the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) also announced an overall pass rate of 98.3%. Of these candidates, 89.12% achieved entry to study for a bachelor’s degree, reflecting a slight decrease compared to 2024.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) congratulated KwaZulu-Natal for emerging as the top-performing province, recording a pass rate of 90.6%.
The party said the results underscored the dedication and hard work of learners, educators and school communities across the province.
“These results, announced by the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, reflect the resilience, discipline, and determination of learners and educators who persevered despite significant systemic challenges. The IFP particularly welcomes the increase in bachelor passes, which signals encouraging progress within the basic education sector,” the party said.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) also congratulated matriculants on their achievements and encouraged those whose examination numbers will not appear in Tuesday’s newspaper not to lose heart but to rewrite the subjects they did not pass.
“There are three examination authorities that examine the National Senior Certificate in South Africa. They are the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE). While nearly 18 000 candidates wrote the IEB exams and just over 6 000 wrote SACAI’s, more than 900 000 matrics wrote the departmental examination.”
RISE Mzansi is also acknowledging the performances across both examination streams.
“Both those who sat for the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) assessment, who achieved a 98.31% pass rate – marginally lower than 2024 – although still impressive, and those who sat for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, who achieved an 88% pass rate, up from 87.3%, which is equally impressive,” Rise Mzansi said.
“The overall pass rate and bachelor pass rate are both steadily increasing. This indicates an improvement in the overall quality of education and the prospects of future employability of the graduating class.”
The Good Party said matriculants had completed a long journey, often under difficult circumstances at home, in their communities or at school, demonstrating resilience and commitment to reach an important milestone.
“Our congratulations also go to the educators, a generally under-acknowledged cohort in South African society. In underdeveloped and under-resourced communities across the country, teachers fulfil critical roles beyond teaching, serving as role models and leaders,” the Good Party said.
ActionSA also added its voice but cautioned that headline pass rates alone do not fully reflect the performance of South Africa’s basic education system.
“While the government celebrates an official matric pass rate of 88%, ActionSA’s analysis shows that the ‘real’ matric pass rate tells a far more sobering story. Using the accepted cohort methodology – measuring how many learners passed matric relative to the 1.14 million learners who entered Grade 10 in 2023 – the effective completion rate falls to 57.7%,” said ActionSA.
anita.nkonki@inl.co.za
Saturday Star