KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Gauteng have emerged as the top three performing provinces in the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, as South Africa recorded its highest matric pass rate in history. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced the results on Monday evening, confirming a national pass rate of 88%, an improvement of about 0.7 percentage points from 2024. More than 656,000 learners passed the NSC in 2025, out of over 900,000 candidates who wrote the examinations at nearly…

A rural school in northern South Africa has risen from 28% to 98.2 matric pass rate, a turnaround that has made it the pride of the community and one of the best-performing educational institutions in the country. Within three years, Mashooro High School in Bolobedu, outside Tzaneen in the Limpopo Province, transformed itself from one of the worst-performing schools into a centre of excellence.  Situated at Ga-Mokgwathi Village, the school’s matric pass rate rose from an embarrassing 28% in 2021…

South Africa has a long-standing tradition of publish matric results in newspapers. In early January every year, many parents and their children wait anxiously for the publishing of matric results. Questions should be asked about the continued relevance of this tradition, even though it once symbolized transparency and accountability.  We live in a time when mental health, privacy and equity are top priorities, as such, it might be both harmful and outdated to disseminate matric results publicly. One of the…