The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) proudly congratulates the Matric Class of 2025 for achieving an historic national pass rate of 88%, the highest in the history of our nation’s education system, with a record number of 921 000 students sitting for the National Senior Certificate (NSC). This remarkable achievement demonstrates the resilience, determination, and excellence of young South Africans, who have overcome immense personal, social, and structural challenges to reach this milestone.
Across the provinces, the Class of 2025 has delivered outstanding performances under difficult conditions. KwaZulu-Natal led the nation with an exceptional 90.60% pass rate, followed by the Free State at 89.33% and Gauteng at 89.06%. The North West achieved 88.49%, the Western Cape 88.20%, and the Northern Cape 87.79%. Mpumalanga recorded 86.55%, Limpopo 86.15%, and the Eastern Cape 84.17%, with every province surpassing the 80% mark.
A total of 345 000 Bachelor’s passes were achieved, with all 75 districts achieving a pass rate of above 85%. Furthermore, 66% of Bachelor’s passes were obtained by students from no-fee schools. These figures, therefore, represent boys and girls from townships, rural areas, and under-resourced schools reaching for a future they were told was out of reach.
They achieved this despite classrooms without adequate infrastructure, chronic shortages of textbooks, and communities burdened by unemployment and poverty. Many of these learners studied without reliable electricity, no proper libraries, and in environments where educators are overworked and under-resourced. That they have triumphed under such conditions speaks to their perseverance and the vital role of committed teachers, parents, and caregivers.
It is, however, 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. 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.
The EFF also notes that learners who wrote through alternative assessment bodies, such as the IEB, which reported a 98.31% pass rate, have once again showcased high levels of achievement, reinforcing the need for quality teaching and support across all educational pathways.
This moment of celebration, however, should not blind us to the very real threat posed by the current government’s austerity measures. Budgets that cut social spending, freeze education funding, and prioritise fiscal targets over human development will derail the momentum created by this generation of learners. When essential services are underfunded, infrastructure decays, and educators are demoralised, the gains of learners achieved often against great odds are put at risk.
The EFF calls on the government to honour the spirit of these results by investing in education, expanding support for teacher development, repairing and building school infrastructure, and ensuring that no child is left behind because of economic inequality or location. South Africa’s youth have shown what is possible when they are given the opportunity to learn and it is the duty of the state to ensure that those opportunities expand, not contract.
To the Class of 2025, we say: well done. Your success belongs not only to you but to the entire nation. We further extend a message of solidarity and encouragement to those learners whose ID numbers will not appear in tomorrow’s newspapers. To those who did not achieve the desired outcome, we say: do not despair. This moment is not an end, but an opportunity to improve, to rewrite, to pursue alternative pathways of education and skills development, and to return stronger.
To those who will be entering universities, TVET colleges, and other institutions of higher learning, we congratulate you and remind you that you do not walk this journey alone. The EFF Youth Command are ready and waiting on campuses across the country to assist you through the Sizofunda Ngenkani campaign. This campaign exists to ensure that no capable student is excluded because of poverty, registration barriers, accommodation challenges, or financial constraints.
The EFF has been supportive of Pan-Africanism and continental unity.
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