Political parties slam public school matric pass rate as misleading

Mapaballo Borotho

ActionSA has criticised the public schools’ matric pass rate, calling it misleading after data showed significant learner attrition over 12 years.
The class of 2025 was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges during their educational journey.
Despite this, the national matric pass rate rose to 88%, with KwaZulu-Natal leading the provinces.

Some political parties have slammed the public schools’ matric pass rate, describing it as misleading.

This comes as it emerged that out of the 1.2 million pupils who enrolled for Grade 1 twelve years ago, just over 770,000 made it to matric in 2025.

The data was made public during a technical briefing at the Mosaic Lifestyle Church in Randburg on Monday, where Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced the national matric pass rate alongside the top achievers.

It was noted that several factors may have contributed to the decline, with the class of 2025 having experienced major disruptions towards the end of their academic journey.

By the time they reached Grade 7, the country was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the next three years being spent under social distancing measures as the world recovered.

Another major concern raised is that pupils are increasingly opting not to study mathematics, which the Department of Basic Education insists is a critical tool for social development.

Meanwhile, Gwarube likened the matric class of 2025 to a baobab tree, noting that the group faced a pandemic just as they were entering high school.

The class of 2025 achieved an 88% pass rate, with KwaZulu-Natal topping all other provinces. The latest pass rate is 0.7% higher than last year’s 87.3%.

However, ActionSA spokesperson Mathew George said this does not accurately reflect the matric results.

“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 pupils passed matric relative to the 1.14 million pupils who entered Grade 10 in 2023, the effective completion rate falls to 57.7%,” George said.

On a lighter note, the DA congratulated the Class of 2025, noting that pupils succeeded despite the socio-economic challenges that they faced throughout their academic journeys.