Equal Education congratulates the matric class of 2025, the largest cohort of candidates (more than 901 790 candidates) to write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, for achieving a 88% national pass rate, equating to 656 415 learners who passed matric. We further congratulate the 345 857 learners who achieved a bachelor’s pass, up from the 337 158 learners who achieved a bachelor’s pass in 2024.
These results are a collective effort of both learners and teachers, in particular those from schools in poor and working-class communities who have excelled, despite challenging circumstances. We encourage all NSC candidates who did not pass their initial examinations or who would like to improve their results to take advantage of the Second Chance Matric Programme, offered free of charge by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) – this initial result does not define you or your potential for future greatness!
While we celebrate the achievement of the matric class of 2025 and are inspired by learners’ sheer determination to succeed, we continue to highlight how the overall national pass rate is not a full and true reflection of the general health of our education system. The pass rate should not be used to conceal the harsh realities of schooling in South Africa, which disproportionately impacts black, poor and rural learners, as well as learners with disabilities. While the resilience demonstrated by the matric class of 2025 is certainly admirable, we remind the government that learners and teachers should not have to demonstrate the level of resilience they currently are, because of an unequal and unjust education system. Like the Baobab tree with strong roots, the Department of Basic Education needs to build a strong foundation for learners so that they thrive in a manner that will not have them burdened with the failures of the department.
Equal Education welcomes the sustained growth in the number of learners from no-fee paying schools achieving bachelor passes, however, we remained deeply concerned that systemic inequality between differently resourced schools persists and impacts educational outcomes: 60.8% of candidates from Quintile 5 schools (the wealthiest schools) who wrote the NSC examinations achieved a bachelor’s pass, while 41.2% of candidates from Quintile 1 schools (the poorest schools) achieved a bachelor’s pass. Furthermore, the number of high-level mathematics achievers declined by 28% in Quintiles 1 to 3 schools between 2024 and 2025, against 18% in Quintiles 4 and 5 schools. The worst declines were in the Eastern Cape (32%) and Limpopo (33%).
While we note that the number of candidates who passed the 2025 NSC examinations who are beneficiaries of social grants decreased from 86.06% to 77.70% in 2025, we highlight that learner well-being and performance are directly interlinked. The socio-economic issues faced by our learners have a direct correlation to how well they perform in school. The Department of Social Development (DSD) must do more to ensure that the barriers to accessing social protections by vulnerable learners in the system are erased.
To understand the National Senior Certificate (NSC) pass rate accurately, we must not consider it in isolation, which suggests an improvement over time, starting with 58 % in 1994, to 76.2% in 2020 and 88% in 2025. Instead, we must examine and take into account the hundreds of thousands of learners who never make it to matric and understand which learners our education system is failing and work towards changing this. The reality is that while South Africa’s national pass rate slightly improved by 0.7% in 2025, the overall throughput rate remains a cause for concern. Only 59% of learners who started Grade 2 ten years ago made it to matric – in 2015, 1,110 200 learners were enrolled in Grade 2, while 656 415 learners achieved matric in 2025. Recent studies have shown that in South Africa, rural areas experience significantly higher learner dropout rates compared to urban areas.
In addition to social pressures, including teenage substance abuse, pregnancy and exposure to violence, many learners, particularly in marginalised communities, drop out due to lack of access to remedial support and psychosocial services and because they simply cannot afford school-related costs. The Statistics South Africa (STATS SA) General Household Survey 2024 confirms that there were approximately 15,6 million learners at school in 2024, with the largest proportion of these learners coming from KwaZulu-Natal (21,2%) and Gauteng (22,2%). The survey indicates that 63,9% of learners walked to school.
‘My high school journey was great but challenging, because from Grade 8 up until Grade 11, we used pit toilets and we had to walk long distances to school. Walking to school was hard because we had to travel much earlier in the morning and a long distance, but we were still expected to arrive fresh/awake. Due to us not having transport, some of us were attacked and robbed’ – Matric Equaliser, Ndlelanhle Secondary School, Nqutu, KwaZulu-Natal
The survey further indicates that learners who dropped out of school before the age of 18 years cited reasons such as poor performance (25,7%) and a lack of money (20,1%) as the main reasons. Although 5,6% named family commitments, which includes teenage pregnancy and childcare, as the main reason, it was more common for females (11,0%) than for males (0,4%).
Poor school conditions, which have been fuelled by years of austerity and fiscal consolidation pressures, as well as financial mismanagement which have devastating consequences for both learners and teachers, and also significantly contribute to poor performance and dropout rates. These systemic issues include overcrowding in our schools; dilapidated school sanitation and other infrastructure that cannot cope with the growing number of students; poor provisioning of core services such as electricity and water, reliable and safe scholar transport, nutritious meals, furniture, learning and teaching support material (textbooks, workbooks, stationery, science kits etc.) and psychosocial support services; as well as school safety – these are the tools that enable a quality learning experience for learners and that are required throughout their schooling career, to support their overall academic and personal development, growth and success! Without these tools, schools simply cannot operate effectively, and learners cannot perform to the best of their ability.
It is important to highlight that many of the obstacles learners face are not isolated, unforeseen events, but in fact preventable, longstanding challenges that continue to compromise their overall schooling outcomes. Learners are expected to withstand adversity, and this expectation has become normalised:
‘We had obstacles that were challenging us, such as lack of infrastructure, lack of furniture, lack of teachers, which contribute to overcrowding at our school’ – Matric Equaliser, Boitumelong Secondary School, Thembisa, Gauteng
‘There were times when I felt demotivated due to the obstacles I and other learners faced at our school. The Provincial Education Department (PED) in the province enforced budget cuts, and this impacted my school. We lacked resources for reading materials. My teachers were, however, really helpful during this time and supported us’ – Matric Equaliser, Nhlalakahle Secondary School, Nqutu, KwaZulu-Natal
‘The area in which our school is located is unsafe. As learners, we were vulnerable to crime and other social ills such as bullying and substance abuse’ – Matric Equaliser, Matthew Goniwe Memorial High School, Cape Town, Western Cape
‘The main obstacle we faced at our school was a shortage of teachers’ – Matric Equaliser, Nonceba Senior Secondary School, Zwelitsha, Eastern Cape
‘My school is located in Khayelitsha. We had to walk long distances to and from school, leaving home in the early hours of the morning and returning home in the late evenings each day. As a result, sometimes, some learners would be robbed while walking to and from school and home’ – Masiyile High School, Cape Town, Western Cape
The consequences of dropping out of school in South Africa are severe, with dropouts often facing a future characterised by poverty, unemployment and hopelessness.
In celebrating the achievements of the class of 2025 and acknowledging the resilience of learners and teachers, particularly those in no-fee paying schools located in rural provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal (which ranked number one) and the Northern Cape (which achieved the biggest improvement in performance out of all provinces), we must not turn a blind eye to the deep systemic injustices in our public education system that force learners to persevere and succeed without the support they require. This is a consequence of the education system, which is managed and implemented by politicians and government officials.
To create conducive learning environments for all learners, the government must prioritise equal and quality education in its budget and policy choices. It must be intentional about increasing funding towards education in our country – a political choice. If it does not, it will continue to polarise the wealthy, well-resourced schools from the poorest of the poor, worsening the existing inequality in our education system. The DBE and PEDs must also efficiently and effectively spend their budgets. According to the DBE’s 2024/25 Annual Report, seven provincial education departments failed to spend funds allocated for the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP), Maths, Science and Technology (MST) and Early Childhood Development (ECD) infrastructure.
Increased funding and efficient spending, however, cannot fix our public schools alone. To create conducive learning environments for all learners and ensure that school environments are free from overcrowding, well-equipped and safe, PEDs must fulfil all the requirements outlined in the Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure and address legacy inequalities and resulting backlogs.
Finally, to help improve learner performance and the quality of education our learners receive, especially in gateway subjects such as Mathematics and Physical Sciences, the government must strengthen foundational learning, ensuring learners master foundational skills such as numeracy and literacy, from an early age.
Equal Education reminds the government that it has a legal and moral obligation to ensure that all learners access a quality education, an immediately realisable right enshrined in our Constitution. To do this, it must address systemic inequalities which prevent learners from attending school and from receiving a quality learning experience throughout their schooling career. Every learner deserves an equal chance in a just and equitable system that respects their right to a quality education and that helps them thrive, empowering their future!
This media statement is endorsed by the Equal Education Law Centre.
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To arrange a media interview, contact:
Ayanda Sishi-Wigzell (Equal Education Communications Manager), ayanda@equaleducation.org.za or 076 879 3017