SADTU STATEMENT ON THE 2025 NATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE (MATRIC)
EXAMINATIONS
13 January 2026
The South African Democratic Teachers ’Union (SADTU) congratulates the Class of 2025 of
the National Senior Certificate (NSC) for achieving an 88% pass rate, an improvement on the87.3% recorded in 2024. This was the largest matric cohort in the country’s history, with
more than 40 000 additional candidates passing compared to the 2024 class.
We commend the Class of 2025 for this achievement, realised under harsh austerity
measures that have deprived the education system of adequate teachers, resources, and
infrastructure. We further salute teachers and learners for their dedication, resilience, and
commitment to delivering these results despite limited resources.
This cohort began their secondary schooling amid the disruptions of the COVID-19
pandemic, while in Grade 7 in 2020 and Grade 8 in 2021. They were subjected to rotational
learning and could not complete the syllabus as planned. We therefore commend teachers
for sacrificing their time to conduct extra classes and study camps to close learning gaps and adequately prepare learners.
We reject misleading rhetoric about a so-called “30% pass mark” that seeks to vilify the
NSC. We will not allow anyone to detract from the remarkable achievement of our children.
We reject misleading rhetoric around the so-called “30% pass mark” that seeks to vilify the
National Senior Certificate. We condemn BOSA President Mmusi Maimane’s repeated
misrepresentation of the NSC pass requirements and will not allow anyone to detract from
the remarkable achievement of our learners.
We welcome the steady improvement of no-fee-paying schools. More than 66% of Bachelor
passes were achieved by learners from no-fee-paying schools. This is particularly
encouraging, given that these schools are among the least resourced. Their success was
achieved through immense sacrifice, including learners and teachers giving up weekends
and holidays to attend study camps.
While we acknowledge this dedication, such sacrifice should not be normalised. We urge
government to provide adequate resources, proper infrastructure, and sufficient numbers
of teachers, particularly in the foundation phase to ensure learners are better prepared as
they progress through the schooling system.
We reiterate the importance of building a firm foundation through early childhood
development and welcome the initiative to strengthen this phase.
We further call for increased support for learners from no-fee-paying schools. Many of
these learners depend on social grants, which are withdrawn when they turn 18 often
during their matric year. We believe this has contributed to the decline in the pass rate of
grant-beneficiary learners, from 86% in 2024 to 78% in 2025. We therefore call for the
extension of social grants until learners complete their secondary education. The role of
social grants and the school nutrition programme in learner retention cannot be overstated.
Although the Class of 2025 was the largest cohort, with 778 793 candidates, we are deeply
concerned about the significant drop in learner numbers from Grade 10 to Grade 12. This
cohort numbered 1 022 822 learners in Grade 10 in 2023, declined to 997 126 in Grade 11 in 2024, and further dropped to 778 793 in 2025. While some learners may have opted for the TVET route after Grade 10, we are aware that some schools retain learners they believe will not pass matric. We condemn this practice as it results in learners losing interest and
eventually dropping out.
We urge schools to desist from this practice, as it destroys the future prospects of many
learners.
Performance of Provinces and Districts
We commend all nine provinces for achieving pass rates above 80%, with KwaZulu-Natal
emerging as the best-performing province at 90.6%. The province also recorded the highest
number of quality passes. This achievement is notable given that KwaZulu-Natal has the
largest learner population and faced challenges such as the non-delivery of norms and
standards, with some principals using their own funds to keep schools operational.
The Free State came second with an 89.33% pass rate after eight years as the
top-performing province, while Gauteng followed closely in third place at 89.06%. We
commend the Northern Cape as the most improved province, achieving an 87.79% pass
rate.
We further commend all 75 districts in the country for achieving pass rates above 80%.
While noting these performances, we reiterate our opposition to the use of league tables
among provinces. Such rankings place unnecessary pressure on schools and officials and can lead to subject choices that limit learners ’future opportunities merely to improve provincial performance statistics.
Subject Performance
Despite the overall improvement, we are concerned about the decline in performance in
key gateway subjects, such as Mathematics, Accounting, and Physical Sciences which
provide learners with broader study and career opportunities.
The Mathematics pass rate declined from 69.1% in 2024 to 64% in 2025, with only 34% of
candidates writing Mathematics, while the majority opted for Mathematical Literacy. We
caution schools against steering learners towards Mathematical Literacy as an easier option, as this limits their future career choices.
Accounting declined from 81.2% in 2024 to 77.9% in 2025. Physical Sciences showed a slight improvement, increasing from 76% in 2024 to 77% in 2025. Agricultural Sciences declined from 86.9% in 2024 to 81.2% in 2025.
As we raise these concerns, we call on the Department of Basic Education to provide more
teachers for these subjects, not only at matric level but also in the foundation and
intermediate phases.
We commend the strong performance in technical subjects, where pass rates exceeded
90%. However, we are concerned about the low enrollment in these subjects. We urge the
Department of Basic Education to provide greater support through the provision of
teachers, resources, and appropriate infrastructure. Technical education is critical in
equipping learners with practical, hands-on skills for a technology-driven economy.
Language of Instruction.
For the majority of learners who wrote the examinations, the language of teaching and
learning is not their mother tongue. Mother-tongue instruction is vital for building strong
cognitive foundations, improving academic performance, and fostering cultural identity. It
enables learners to grasp concepts more effectively and develop critical thinking skills.
We acknowledge the Department of Basic Education’s gradual introduction of
mother-tongue-based bilingual education in the intermediate phase. We call for the
strengthening and expansion of this programme, as it will allow learners to develop deep
literacy and conceptual understanding in their home language, enabling easier acquisition of additional languages and subjects as they progress to later phases. In the long term, this will reduce learning difficulties at matric level.
Conclusion.
To learners who did not pass, we urge them not to give up and to register for the Second
Chance Programme which is offered free of charge.
ISSUED BY: SADTU Secretariat