Real Pass Rate Raises Alarm

ActionSA has raised serious concerns about South Africa’s matric results, arguing that the widely celebrated 88% pass rate masks deep and ongoing failures within the basic education system.

In a statement issued on 12 January 2026, ActionSA Parliamentary Chief Whip Lerato Ngobeni MP congratulated the Class of 2025 for completing their National Senior Certificate under challenging conditions, and acknowledged the role played by teachers and families. She said every learner who perseveres to the end of matric deserves recognition.

However, ActionSA cautioned that headline pass rates do not present a full or honest picture of the system’s performance. Using a cohort-based analysis, which tracks how many learners who entered Grade 10 in 2023 eventually passed matric, the party calculates the effective pass rate at just 57.7%. This figure is based on the 1.14 million learners who began Grade 10, nearly half of whom did not successfully complete matric.

According to ActionSA, this gap reflects a schooling system that continues to lose learners through dropout, repetition and disengagement long before they reach their final examinations. The party argues that success is being defined by reducing the number of learners who write matric, rather than by improving learning outcomes across the board.

The party also highlighted ongoing safety and infrastructure challenges in schools. Ngobeni pointed to the recent death of a six-year-old girl in Nkuzana village, Limpopo, who fell into a pit toilet, despite such facilities being banned since 2013. A parliamentary reply last year revealed that about 590 schools across the country still rely on pit toilets, more than a decade after government committed to eradicating them.

“A system that cannot guarantee basic safety and dignity for learners cannot credibly claim success based on pass percentages alone,” Ngobeni said.

ActionSA reiterated its call for comprehensive education reform, including honest reporting of matric outcomes against full learner cohorts, the abolition of the 30% pass mark in favour of meaningful minimum standards, and structured academic support for learners who fall behind. The party also supports the reintroduction of Annual National Assessments and transparent school-level performance data to rebuild accountability.

Looking ahead, ActionSA argues that South Africa needs an education system aligned with the realities of a modern economy. It has proposed a dual-stream education model from Grade 10, allowing learners to choose between academic and vocational pathways that respond to the country’s skills needs.

“Our education system is not failing by accident,” Ngobeni said. “It is failing because leaders repeatedly choose political comfort over honest reform.” ActionSA says it will continue to push for higher standards, safer schools and an education system that prepares young South Africans not only to pass, but to thrive.