With the imminent release of the 2025 matric results, SA could edge closer to a 90% national pass rate, with some provinces aiming even higher.
Education experts caution, however, that while such a milestone may indicate improved learner support, the pass rate alone provides a limited view of whether pupils are leaving school with the skills necessary to succeed beyond matric.
Last year, the matric class of 2024 was hailed for its performance after achieving an 87.3% pass rate, the highest in the country’s history.
A pass rate, even at 90%...does not measure deep understanding, critical thinking, or mastery of key subjects like mathematics, science, and language literacy.”
— Dr Corrin Varady
Dr Corrin Varady, CEO of IDEA Digital Education, told Sowetan there was growing talk of the country reaching the 90% mark, with provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal aiming even higher.
While this reflected progress and improved learner support, he warned that a high pass rate should not be viewed as an end in itself — either for criticism or celebration.
Varady said recent debates, including the parliamentary discussion raised by Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane, often oversimplified the issue by focusing narrowly on the “30% pass mark” or labelling those who questioned the true meaning of the figures as “the real pass mark brigade”.
“A pass rate, even at 90%, shows how many students meet minimum thresholds — it does not measure deep understanding, critical thinking, or mastery of key subjects such as mathematics, science, and language literacy,” Varady said.
He said these skills were what truly drove employability, innovation and economic growth.
“Does it give us a basic litmus test of the potential progress made year on year? Yes. Does it help us predict the future success or careers of our current cohort? No,” he said.
To translate education outcomes into meaningful skills development, Varady said the country needed to prioritise quality alongside quantity — supporting educators and matriculants first, and worrying about pass marks later.
Learning also needed to be better aligned with labour-market needs, realistically bridging learners from school to further education and employment opportunities.
In addition, he said benchmarks should be raised over time through reflection on results and continuous improvement in curriculum delivery and teacher development.
“A 90% pass rate, at a very high level, may indicate systemic improvement, but its real value lies in how it translates into opportunities for further education, job readiness, and economic participation.
“SA should celebrate progress, but stay focused on the deeper work of quality learning, rather than letting the pass-rate debate overshadow the discussion regarding student achievement,” Varady said.
Another education expert, Prof Mary Metcalfe, said the country should pay as much attention to reading performance in the foundation years as it does to National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.
Metcalfe used to be the MEC of education in Gauteng.
“We should be looking at performance in grade 9 just as much as we do in matric. The reason this skewed interest in matric is so important is that public pressure drives the department towards behaviours that prioritise NSC results over everything else. Extra resources are given, and so on, whereas we need to be investing far more in the primary years.”
Regarding whether a higher pass rate translates into economic growth, Metcalfe said the relationship between skills development and economic development is complex.
“As a country, we need to do more to develop skills that are responsive to the realities of the economy.
“The more skilled the workforce is, the more literate, numerate, confident, problem-solving, and critically thinking our learners are at every level, the better the basis for developing the economy,” she said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.