Everyone knows the struggle of matriculants in South Africa: the late nights, the deadlines, studying for an exam that, at the time, feels like it will determine the rest of your life. It is no wonder the country is so proud of our 88% matric pass rate last year. This is up from 75.8% in 2014 when the current CAPS curriculum was first introduced, and it was the first year since 2008 that all 75 districts across the nine provinces registered pass rates above 80%, which at first glance seems like a genuine victory, and it is… to an extent.
Our pass rate is an amazing way to measure the general success of students writing the National Senior Certificate (NSC) in meeting the exam’s requirements. Unfortunately, it is not a good measure of our schools’ overall success, nor the students’ eventual preparedness for life.
While it is true that 88% of matriculants who wrote the NSC exams passed it, this statistic does not account for the number of students who did not make it to the exam at all. According to the opposition party Build One South Africa (BOSA), if the pass rate is calculated to include the students who dropped out before matric, it would only be about 54.7%. Similarly, ActionSA reports that it would be 57.7%. From these statistics, it is clear that the high pass rate does not account for the students left behind before having the chance to write the NSC exams, and as a result, cannot truly measure our school system’s ability to support students.
Another criticism regarding the high pass rate’s accuracy is how low South Africa’s pass requirements have become. To pass the NSC, a student needs only 30-40% in most subjects, while a Bachelor’s pass (the pass required for university eligibility) requires at least 50% in four subjects excluding Life Orientation. The result is that in 2025, only 46% of matrics achieved a Bachelor’s pass (university eligibility). This is an improvement from past years, but it still calls into question whether or not passing the NSC is a good marker for the success of our education system, seeing as the requirements to do so are so low. It is a big issue for our country’s future, since, due to universities’ high standards, a Bachelor’s pass usually will not get a student into most universities, and even less can be said for what someone can do with a standard NSC pass.
The pass rate of 2025 is inarguably a milestone for our education system, and it shows our schools have adapted to the curriculum. However, we still have alarmingly high dropout rates, a very low pass requirement, and a society where a simple matric certificate will not necessarily get you very far. Our matriculants and teachers can be very proud of their achievements, and they should be, but we as South Africans must not let ourselves forget how far we still have to go in order to truly create an environment that prepares our youth to someday take over this country.
Visual: Esther Ndebele
