Gareth Cliff Weighs In on KwaZulu-Natal’s 2025 Matric Pass Rate: “That’s Probably Nonsense”
- During an episode of The Gareth Cliff Show, Gareth Cliff shared his thoughts on South Africa’s class of 2025 achieving a record-high matric pass rate
- Gareth Cliff also reacted to KwaZulu-Natal Province having the country's highest matric pass rate
- The Gareth Cliff Show co-host Leigh-Ann Mol offered a light-hearted perspective on why KZN had achieved the country's highest matric pass rate
Source: Instagram
Renowned broadcaster Gareth Cliff has weighed in on South Africa’s historic matric pass rate. Cliff also reacted to KwaZulu-Natal being the province with the highest matric pass rate.
On 12 January 2025, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube reported that the class of 2025 achieved an official pass rate of 88%, up slightly from 87.3% in 2024, marking the highest matric pass rate in the country’s history.
What did Gareth Cliff say about SA’s historic 88% matric pass rate?
During an episode of The Gareth Cliff Show that aired on Friday, 16 January 2026, Gareth Cliff weighed in on the country’s highest matric pass rate to date. He downplayed the significance of the pass rate, citing the lowering of standards and how 35% is now considered a pass, echoing the same sentiments as BOSA leader Mmusi Maimane.
PAY ATTENTION: Briefly News is now on YouTube! Check out our interviews on Briefly TV Life now!
“Apparently, the matric class of 2025 got 88% overall pass rate. That's pretty high. It hasn't been that high for a long time. The pass rate is 35%. Exactly. If you get if you get 35%, well done, you dunce, you got through South African school,” Cliff said.
Gareth Cliff questions KwaZulu-Natal's high pass rate
Later during the episode, the former Idols SA judge weighed in on KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) being the province with the highest matric pass rate in South Africa for the class of 2025. He said that KZN securing the most passes also raised eyebrows regarding the statistics.
“But anyway, it's up from 87.3%, not that much better, but that was 2024. KwaZulu-Natal is the top-performing province. Now, this is where I start to like go mmm don't know about that. Yeah, apparently, they got 90.6% pass rate in KZN. I don't know. I'm just thinking that's probably nonsense. Am I wrong?” Cliff added.
Source: UGC
Cliff’s co-host, Leigh-Ann Mol, light-heartedly suggested why KZN had the highest pass rate. She joked that it had something to do with the hard-ships the province had previously faced.
“Well, the province has faced a lot of challenges. Perhaps these people are like hardening up and becoming really resilient,” she joked.
Watch the full episode of The Gareth Cliff Show below:
How matric results almost sent Tbo Touch to a hospital
While Gareth Cliff weighed in on the 2025 matric pass rate, another popular broadcaster shared how the results almost landed him in hospital.
Briefly News previously reported that Tbo Touch shared he had a health scare after misreading a text from his aunt regarding his niece's matric results.
On Tuesday, 13 January 2026, during his Touch Down Show on Metro FM, Tbo Touch stressed the importance of contextualising messages to avoid causing panic.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
Source: Briefly News
