Build One South Africa (BOSA) congratulates every young person who will tomorrow celebrate passing their matric results. We applaud the achievements of our brilliant young minds, alongside hard working, dedicated teachers and school staff, and sacrificial parents.
The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, this evening unveiled the official matric results for the class of 2025, announcing a pass rate of 88%. This is misleading.
The true matric pass rate is a much lower 54.7% – pointing to an education system that is jeopardising the future of our young people.
Of the 1 250 791 million learners who began school in grade 1 in 2014, just 684 640 full time learners have passed matric in 2025 – a true pass rate of just 54.7%. This means over 566 000 young people didn’t make it.
While some may have pursued other modes of education – such as TVET colleges – many more have dropped out or fallen through the cracks in the education system. They will now likely face an uphill battle to enter the economy and find a job.
A brilliant education system forms the foundation of any successful society, and that is why this year it is critical we have a different conversation about the state of our education system.
The sharp drop-off between Grades 10 and 12 shows that hundreds of thousands of learners are being lost before matric, often because poverty forces young people out of classrooms and into work opportunities to support their families.
The 2025 Matric results illustrate a number of flashing red lights which must be brought to the fore. Salient indicators which are cause for concern are:
Dropout rate: As alluded to above, roughly half of learners who began grade one in 2014 did not matriculate last year. This is an indictment on both the education system and its supporting structures.
University admission: Less than one quarter of learners passed with a Bachelors Pass, making them eligible for admission to university. Trends predict that less than 15% of that cohort will enrol at a university. That is why global rankings place South Africa 107 out of 141 – the bottom quarter – in skills readiness for the future workforce.
30% pass mark: In order to inflate pass rates, pass marks are unjustifiably low. Current standards convey to learners that 30% and 40% are acceptable achievements. Crucially, the majority of students who take crucial matric subjects pass with less than 50%.
International benchmarks including TIMMS and PIRLS indicate that only 20% of our learners are performing at an appropriate level. This 81% of South African children cannot read for comprehension in any of the 11 official languages by the age of 10.
There is little debate about whether South Africa has an education crisis. To fix this, the 30% pass mark must be scrapped and replaced by a 50% minimum for all subjects.
It is therefore deeply unfortunate that last month the ANC, DA, FF+, PA and Al-Jama-ah voted against BOSA’s motion to end the 30% pass mark for matric subjects. These parties sold out the future of South Africa’s young people, telling them that low standards and mediocrity is fine, in turn setting millions up for a life of unemployment.
The 30% pass mark is nothing more than Bantu Education in the modern era. It is a policy that entrenches low expectations and masks systemic failure. By defending this standard, these parties chose to protect an illusion of success instead of confronting the crisis in our education system.
In addition, reform must include an independent education ombudsman, raising salaries for educators, curtailing union power, incentivizing students during the academic year, prioritizing the primary phase of education, introducing a school voucher programme, and conducting a nationwide teacher skills audit.
With an annual education budget of over R300 billion, there is little justification for the substandard quality of education. The lack of resources, overcrowded classrooms, unqualified teachers, and inadequate infrastructure are all symptomatic of a system that has failed to live up to its promises.
Going forward, BOSA will continue to pursue all interventions to fix what is broken and ensure that every South African learner can thrive.
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons
BOSA Spokesperson
072 299 3551