Following the release of the 2025 National Senior Certificate results, Build One South Africa (BOSA) has written to the National Education and Training Council (NETC) to formally request a meeting to present its education reform proposals.
As an independent statutory advisory body to the Minister of Basic Education, the Council is mandated to advise on key education policies and reforms, provide input on draft national education policy, and report annually to the Minister on its work.
The NETC, established in terms of the National Education Policy Act of 1996 and operationalised through regulations promulgated in 2009, was activated for the first time on 27 August 2025.
BOSA believes the activation of the NETC presents a critical opportunity for meaningful, evidence-based reform of South Africa’s weak public education system.
While government has once again highlighted headline pass rates, these results continue to mask deep structural weaknesses in the system, including low standards, poor accountability, weak foundational learning, and inadequate preparation of learners for further study, work, or global competitiveness.
In its submission to the NETC, BOSA will present a 10-Point Education Rescue Plan aimed at stabilising the system and driving measurable improvement in outcomes:
- Scrap the 30% pass mark and replace it with a minimum 50% requirement to restore credibility to the matric qualification and raise expectations.
- Establish an Independent Education Ombudsman (Inspector-General of Education) to oversee school standards, teacher performance, and systemic failures, reporting directly to Parliament.
- Raise teacher salaries while curtailing excessive union power, particularly where unions obstruct accountability, reform, and learner interests.
- Replace Life Orientation with a mandatory, examinable skills subject focused on critical thinking, logic, systems thinking, and general knowledge.
- Introduce learner incentives during the academic year, particularly for STEM performance, linked to regular assessments and performance tracking.
- Prioritise the primary phase of education, including Early Childhood Development, to address the crisis in reading for meaning and foundational numeracy.
- Introduce a School Voucher Programme to empower parents with real choice and drive competition and accountability across schools.
- Expand extended and catch-up programmes for underperforming learners, including a supported post-matric year where necessary.
- Reprioritise the education budget for digital learning and Infrastructure, including broadband connectivity and computer centres in schools.
- Conduct a nationwide teacher skills audit to ensure all educators are adequately equipped to teach the curriculum effectively.
BOSA maintains that South Africa’s education crisis is not the result of a lack of spending, but of poor prioritisation, weak oversight, and low expectations. Without urgent reform, the country will continue to fail generations of young people and undermine its long-term economic prospects.
We look forward to engaging the NETC in good faith and contributing practical, reform-oriented solutions that put learners first and bring integrity into our education system.
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons
BOSA Spokesperson
072 299 3551