Mmusi Maimane Calls on Department of Basic Education To Raise Pass Mark to 50 Percent in Parliament

• The president of Build One SA, Mmusi Maimane, is unhappy that the pass mark is 30% and called for it to be increased
• He said the pass mark should be 50% to enable learners to stand a better chance of being employed after matric
• South Africans entered the debate and discussed Maimane's recommendation, with some supporting it

Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests and immigration in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG—Build One South Africa (BUSA) president Mmusi Maimane is adamant that the pass mark should be 50% and disagrees with the current mark.

Pass mark should be 50%: Maimane

According to Eyewitness News, Maimane bemoaned the 87% matric pass rate for the class of 2024. He said that improving the current pass mark of 30% to 50% would give learners who pass matric a better chance at obtaining employment opportunities. Speaking in Parliament on 22 January 2025, he said the country's education system must ensure that a child's economic circumstances do not determine the quality of education.

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Maimane recently criticised the 30% pass mark and said it was not a pass mark worthy of celebration. He said it was not enough, and 40% was also not a sufficient pass mark for the country to celebrate.

South Africans discuss

Netizens commenting on @MmusiMaimane's tweet discussed the country's quality of education.

Andrea Mammes said:

"Standards have disappeared. Teachers are poorly trained themselves."

Cassiday Rangata-Jacobs said:

"Simple. This is what I've been saying. You don't need petitions. Just go and debate it in Parliament."

Mister P said:

"Teachers must stop relying on parents to help kids academically. Teaching and learning takes place at school involving a teacher and a learner unless it is self-taught."

21 Battalions asked:

"Mmusi, do you honestly think the SA government has the intention to build the country?"

Melikhaya Pantsi said:

"Try and engage political party leaders upfront before taking the stage."

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Mmusi Maimane says pass rate is less than 50%

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Maimane believed the pass mark was lower than 51%. The BOSA leader said the pass mark was unrealistic and possibly less than the 87% that was announced.

Naimane said that the pass rate is willingly misleading. Out of the 1.2 million learners who started school in 2013, only 615,000 have passed matric, meaning the pass mark is 51%.

Source: Briefly News