Politicians have welcomed the performance of the Matric Class of 2025 in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, which saw a national pass rate of 88%, an improvement from 87.3% in 2024.

However, the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education noted a low uptake and throughput in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) which it said limited the country’s drive towards economic growth, technological development and global competitiveness.

“While the 88% is commendable, the committee highlighted the need for a concerted effort to address the sluggish uptake and throughput in STEM subjects,” said committee chairperson Joy Maimela.

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) suggested that efforts be directed towards establishing a technical school in all districts to help drive growth in these subjects.

Maimela said despite the “commendable progress” in social justice principles within the basic education sector – in terms of access, redress, equity and inclusivity – the committee wanted to see an improvement in efficiency and quality.

It pointed to a decreasing number of educators amid a growing learner population and said this was a major impediment to quality education.

“It is unacceptable that while the system caters for an increasing number of learners, teacher posts are not increasing at the same pace. The DBE must move with speed to improve quality where challenges exist,” she stated.

While noting a marginal improvement in throughput, the committee expressed concern that the number of learners who fall by the wayside remained worryingly high.

The GOOD Party weighed in on this concern.

“Of course, if you add in all the learners who would have written the 2025 Matric exams had they not dropped out of school, the numbers wouldn’t look as impressive – and there are also issues of the quality of education to consider. Neither learners nor educators are primarily responsible for these factors; they are a consequence of the education system, managed and implemented by politicians and government officials,” said GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron.

He pointed to the legacy of a “deliberately unequal education system”, which he said had not been addressed. He said education sector leadership needed to step up.

He said the department must build short- and long-term exchange programmes for learners and educators, and academic projects and sports fixtures outside the traditional class or colour-coded comfort zones.

“We should reconfigure our curricula to highlight human values, vulnerabilities and inter-dependencies. We should be forcing provincial departments to spend the education’s rightful share of the budget from the National Government on education,” he added.

ActionSA Parliamentary Chief Whip Lerato Ngobeni pointed to a “crisis” in basic education, which she said was visible in the conditions under which many learners were expected to study.

“Just days ago, a six-year-old girl in Nkuzana village, Limpopo, lost her life after falling into a pit toilet, despite such toilets being banned by law since 2013. According to a parliamentary reply from late last year, around 590 schools still rely on pit toilets, more than a decade after government committed to their eradication. A system that cannot guarantee basic safety and dignity for learners cannot credibly claim success based on pass percentages alone,” she said.

ActionSA advocates for a dual-stream education model from Grade 10, offering learners a choice between academic and vocational pathways, aligned to the skills the South African economy needs.

“Not every learner should be forced into a single academic track designed for another era,” Ngobeni said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA), with a Minister heading up the Education Department, noted progress in inclusion, citing increased participation of learners with special education needs alongside improved performance outcomes for these learners.

DA spokesperson on Basic Education Nazley Sharif said the party welcomed “[Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube’s] honest and evidence-based analysis” of what the results show about the education system.

Sharif cited the ongoing challenge of learner throughput, including the drop-off between Grade 10 and Grade 12, as well as performance difficulties in key gateway subjects such as Mathematics and Physical Sciences.

The DA said it supported the Minister’s commitment to address these concerns through targeted interventions to improve learner retention and success across the Further Education and Training phase, and through strengthened support for gateway subjects that were critical to access further study and employment opportunities.

The party also reaffirmed the urgent need to strengthen the foundations of learning, particularly early literacy and numeracy.

Meanwhile, Deputy President Paul Mashatile commended the matriculants for their “resilience, discipline, and determination”, saying their achievement represented personal success and a critical contribution to the country’s future development.

Inkatha Freedom Party national spokesperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa echoed these sentiments, spotlighting educators who he said persevered despite significant systemic challenges.

The IFP particularly welcomed the increase in Bachelor passes, which the party said signalled encouraging progress in the basic education sector.

“With more than 900 000 candidates sitting for the examinations, the Class of 2025 confronted numerous obstacles, including delays in the payment of school norms and standards, as well as the late or inadequate provision of essential learning materials. Notwithstanding these challenges, learners demonstrated remarkable perseverance and commitment to their academic goals,” stated Hlengwa.