Educational assessment body, Umalusi, has approved the release of the 2025 end-of-year matric examination results, declaring South Africa’s national assessment system credible despite its size, complexity, and ongoing challenges.

Addressing the media in Pretoria on January 9, Umalusi chairperson Professor Yunus Ballim said the decision followed an intensive quality assurance process covering more than one million candidates across four qualifications and four assessment bodies.

“In a system of this scale, perfection is not possible anywhere in the world,” Ballim said. “What matters is that the systems are strong enough to detect problems early and to act decisively to protect the credibility of the certificates we issue.”

Umalusi confirmed that a reported breach involving certain National Senior Certificate (NSC) examination papers at Pretoria schools in December was investigated independently and found to be limited and localised, affecting about 40 candidates and limited to three subjects.

Ballim said the integrity of the overall NSC results had not been compromised by this breach.

“Early detection is the key. The learners involved will not receive their certificates,” he said, adding that consequences would follow for all those implicated, including employees of the Department of Basic Education.

The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, is expected to announce sanctions related to the investigation of the incident.

In total, about 1.03 million candidates wrote examinations in more than 300 subjects at roughly 9 400 examination centres nationwide.

The majority of candidates, about 927 000 or just over 90%, were NSC candidates.

The remainder were spread across the National Certificate (Vocational) Level 4, National Accredited Technical Education Diploma (Engineering Studies N3), and the General Education and Training Certificate: Adult Basic Education and Training.

Umalusi’s executive committee met from January 6–8 to consider detailed reports from the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) and the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI).

All four sets of results were approved for release after Umalusi concluded that no systemic irregularities had occurred that compromised overall credibility.

A central part of the quality assurance process was the standardisation of marks, conducted between December 18, 2025, and January 5, 2026.

The process involved statistical adjustments to subject mark distributions rather than individual learner marks.

For the DBE’s NSC examinations, raw marks were accepted in more than 80% of subjects, continuing a five-year trend of increasing stability.

Similar findings were reported for the IEB (an assessment body that provides the NSC and other qualifications, primarily for private schools) and the SACAI (an assessment body that offers qualifications to a diverse group of candidates).

While the DHET showed improvement, Umalusi noted persistent concerns around internal assessment practices at some Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges.

Results of candidates implicated in irregularities will be withheld pending further investigation, and assessment bodies have been instructed to submit improvement plans for non-compliance by March.

Umalusi’s CEO Mafu Rakometsi said the 2025 examinations were credible, well-managed and largely unaffected by external disruptions such as protests, load reduction and adverse weather.

“What stands out is a deliberate balance between reassurance and firmness,” Rakometsi said. “There is confidence in the system, coupled with a clear message that integrity, accountability and standards will not be compromised.”

ALSO READ: Matric done, now what?

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok or WhatsApp Channel