KwaZulu-Natal Matriculants Lead the Way As Class of 2025 Learners Achieve 88% Pass Rate

• Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced the matric results on 12 January 2025 at a glitzy ceremony in Johannesburg
• The Free State, which is normally the top-performing province, had to settle for second with a pass rate of 89.33%
• The Class of 2025 made history, as for the first time, all 75 education districts in South Africa achieved pass rates of above 80%

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG – KwaZulu-Natal is the best-performing province when it comes to the 2025 matric results.

That was confirmed by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, who made the announcement at a glitzy event in Johannesburg on Monday, 12 January 2026.

The event not only celebrated the hard work of the matriculants but also honoured the top achievers.

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KZN matriculants lead the way

During the event, the minister confirmed that the National Pass Rate was 88%, with KZN leading the way.

The province achieved a pass rate of 90.6%, scooping first place. The Free State finished second with 89.33%, while Gauteng scooped third place with 89.06%. KZN didn’t just shine when it came to National Senior Certificate results, but also topped the charts when it came to the IEB results.

All provinces achieve above 80% pass rate

While KZN rightly received a lot of praise, the minister noted that the national pass rate of 88% was 0.7% better than the Class of 2024.

More than 656,000 learners successfully passed their exams, and 345,000 earned bachelor’s passes. This set a new record for the largest number of matriculants achieving bachelor’s passes.

The Class of 2025 made further history, as it was the first time that all 75 education districts in South Africa achieved pass rates of above 80%. All provinces also finished about the 80% mark.

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While KZN, Free State and Gauteng took the top spots, other provinces also performed admirably. North West (88.49%) finished fourth, followed by Western Cape (88.2%) and the Northern Cape (87.79%).

The Northern Cape experienced the largest improvement compared to last year. Mpumalanga (86.5%) was seventh, followed by Limpopo (86.15%), and finally the Eastern Cape (84.17%).

There was a slight blemish on this year's exams, as the Department of Basic Education confirmed that there was a leak. Investigations into the breach have since taken place, and the minister recently discussed the findings and the fate of the students who were caught cheating during exams.

Minister praises learners from no-fee schools

The minister also offered special praise for learners from no-fee schools, noting that more than 66% of bachelor’s passes came from these learners. More no-fee schools also achieved pass rates between 80% and 100%.

“To the learners of no-fee schools, you have shown the country that talent lives everywhere, and that when we strengthen the roots, hope becomes an outcome, but not a slogan,” the minister stated.

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IEB celebrates impressive 98.3% matric pass rate

Briefly News reported that the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) recorded an impressive 98.31% pass rate in the 2025 examinations.

Despite a slight dip from last year, the IEB said the results reflected strong performance from a growing and evolving candidate pool.

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube congratulated the Class of 2025, praising both learners and educators for their resilience and hard work.

Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News