Learners who did not achieve the outcomes they hoped for in the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations must not be written off or abandoned, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) has warned.
Earlier on Monday, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced that the Class of 2025 achieved a record 88% pass rate in the NSC examinations — the highest in South Africa’s history.
In a statement reacting to the release of the results, UDM acting secretary-general Zandile Phiri said the futures of learners who fell short of passing should not be ignored, despite the overall improvement in national pass rates.
“No young person should be abandoned at the point of disappointment,” Phiri said, adding that the government had a responsibility to ensure meaningful post-school pathways for affected learners.
The party called for greater access to second-chance matric programmes, skills training, TVET colleges and community education opportunities, saying alternative routes were critical to ensuring young people were not lost to the system.
While congratulating the Class of 2025 on completing their schooling under difficult social and economic conditions, the UDM cautioned against celebrating pass rates without confronting deeper challenges in the basic education system.
Phiri said persistent inequalities between schools, unsafe and dilapidated infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, shortages of learning materials and weak administrative oversight continued to deny many learners an equal opportunity to realise their full potential.
“Strong matric results do not automatically translate into a healthy education system,” she said, adding that true success would only be measured when every learner, regardless of geography or background, was taught in a safe, well-resourced school supported by a capable and accountable state.
The UDM called on the Department of Basic Education to act decisively on findings of investigations into systemic failures, enforce accountability where negligence was identified, and prioritise infrastructure, teacher support and learner welfare.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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