SADTU FREE STATE CONGRATULATES THE MATRIC CLASS OF 2025 IN THE PROVINCE
15 January 2026
The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) in the Free State congratulates the Free State matric class of 2025 for their sterling performance in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations. The province achieved an overall pass rate of 89.33%, which reflects a slight decline from the 91% obtained in 2024. Despite this marginal drop, the performance remains commendable, as educators have done their utmost best under difficult conditions, including budget cuts.
We commend all our members and educators in general, learners, parents, officials, and various stakeholders for their immeasurable contribution under the leadership of the MEC for Education, Dr Mamiki Maboya, and the Head of Department, Advocate Tsoarelo Malakoane. Without the collaboration among these key stakeholders, this performance would not have been achieved.
We note that all districts, except Mangaung Metropolitan Education District, have gone below the 90% pass rate achieved in 2024. This requires urgent attention so that the necessary support and interventions can be provided as early as possible, enabling the Department to surpass the record target of 91% set in 2024.
It is unfortunate that some have adopted a populist stance by calling for action against the MEC for Education due to the decline, despite never having congratulated or positively commented on the results during the eight years in which the Free State achieved the top position nationally. As SADTU, we believe there is no need for panic at this level. Instead, stakeholders should join hands to analyse the situation with the intention of addressing existing weaknesses.
As SADTU, we will engage both the MEC for Education and the Head of Department to raise issues that we believe have contributed to this performance, as we firmly believe in dialogue as a means to arrive at sustainable solutions.
We call on all learners who did not make it to take advantage of the Second Chance Programmes provided by the Department of Education. They should draw wisdom from the words of Nelson Mandela: “Success is often not judged by constant winning, but by how many times you fall and get back up.” This emphasises the importance of resilience, perseverance, and learning from failures and mistakes.
ISSUED BY: Provincial Secretariat