KwaZulu-Natal overcame years of financial pressure, damaging floods and persistent staffing shortages to finish as South Africa’s top-performing province in the 2025 National Senior Certificate results with a 90.6% pass rate – up from 89.52% in 2024.
The Department of Basic Education has assured parents and the nation that all unplaced learners will be allocated schools when learning begins on Wednesday.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has lambasted the province’s 2025 matric performance, describing its drop from second to third place nationally as unacceptable and calling for urgent intervention.
Over the past three academic years and into the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, South Africa’s schooling system has continued to display a troubling contradiction: steadily improving matric pass rates alongside persistently high learner dropout across earlier grades.
The North West Province has continued its upward trajectory in National Senior Certificate (NSC) performance, achieving an overall pass rate of 88.49% for the Class of 2025, marking a 0.9 percentage point improvement from the previous year.
One of Gauteng’s top matric achievers, Kamogelo Tshabalala from Acudeo College Kirkney, described the matriculation journey as “easy” thanks to good preparation and a well-coordinated support structure, including peer groups and assistance from teachers.
Tania Motimele is a Diepkloof Secondary School learner in Gauteng and an NSC 2025 top achiever, whose academic success is rooted in discipline, perseverance, and a strong support system.
Siza Gule, a top-performing learner from St John’s College in Johannesburg, is set to begin his studies at the prestigious Harvard University in August, marking a major milestone in an already exceptional academic journey.
Abigail Kok, an 18-year-old matriculant from York High School in the Western Cape, was honoured as the Top Learner in the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) at an awards ceremony held at the Mosaïek Theatre in Fairlands, Johannesburg.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has received a staggering 326,546 applications for just 9,124 first-year places, underscoring the fierce competition for admission at the institution.
