The ANC, DA, EFF, MK party and the UDM also shared their sentiments on the 2025 matric results.
As South Africa celebrates a record-breaking matric pass rate of 88%, ActionSA says the headline pass rates do not reflect the true performance of the country’s Basic education system.
The official National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam results were announced by Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube on Monday evening.
The latest pass rate is 0.7% higher than last year’s 87.3%.
Actual pass rate
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.
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Gap
George said Gwarube’s “triumphal rhetoric” did not reflect that nearly half of the pupils who started the final phase of their schooling did not successfully complete matric.
“This gap is not an abstraction. It reflects a system that continues to lose pupils through dropout, repetition, and disengagement long before they ever reach the examination hall.
“It is a system where success is defined by shrinking the denominator rather than improving outcomes, and where political comfort is prioritised over honest measurement and reform,” George said.
ANC
Meanwhile, the ANC said the 2025 matric results milestone is a testament to the resilience, discipline, and determination of the largest cohort to ever sit for the NSC examinations, with more than 900 000 candidates writing in 2025.
“Of particular significance is the achievement of 345 000 bachelor’s passes, an increase of more than 8 000 from the previous year, underscoring a continued improvement in the quality of outcomes that open pathways to higher education and future leadership,” ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bengu said.
“These outcomes are the result of the collective effort of teachers, parents, school governing bodies, education workers and communities who continue to carry the responsibility of nation building under difficult conditions. They affirm the effectiveness of curriculum recovery interventions and the commitment of the ANC-led government to restoring learning, strengthening teaching, and expanding access to quality education, particularly in historically disadvantaged communities.”
DA
The DA welcomed the 2026 matric results and congratulated the Class of 2025, noting that pupils succeeded despite socio-economic hardship and that those who overcame personal and structural challenges to complete matric.
“Their achievements underscore the resilience of South Africa’s young people and the importance of protecting learner opportunity at every stage of the schooling system,” DA spokesperson on basic education, Nazley Sharif, said.
“We welcome the minister’s honest and evidence-based analysis of what the results show about the education system, particularly the ongoing challenge of pupils throughput, including the drop-off between Grade 10 and Grade 12, as well as persistent performance difficulties in key gateway subjects such as Mathematics and Physical Sciences.”
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EFF
The EFF also congratulated the Matric Class of 2025, but raised concerns about the maths subject.
“A matter of deep concern that the mathematics pass rate has declined from 69% in 2024 to 64% in 2025, highlighting that even as overall achievement rises, there are serious gaps in foundational learning that must be urgently addressed,” the party said.
“Without deliberate investment in maths and science education, particularly in historically disadvantaged communities, we risk producing graduates whose qualifications do not meet the demands of our modern economy.”
MK party
The MK party commended the Class of 2025 for their record-breaking matric pass rate.
“We believe a strong education system equips young people with the skills, confidence and resilience needed to compete in a rapidly changing global environment,” MK party national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said.
“The challenges facing our education system reflect broader social and economic inequalities that require a holistic and inclusive response.”
‘Pupils must not be written off’
For those pupils who may have missed the mark, the UDM shared words of encouragement.
The party said pupils who did not achieve the outcomes they hoped for in the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations must not be written off or abandoned.
“No young person should be abandoned at the point of disappointment,” UDM acting secretary-general Zandile Phiri said, adding that the government had a responsibility to ensure meaningful post-school pathways for affected pupils.
Phiri called for greater access to second-chance matric programmes, skills training, TVET colleges and community education opportunities, saying “alternative routes were critical” to ensuring young people were not lost to the system.
