The Independent Examinations Board has achieved an overall pass rate of 98.31 per cent in the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations.
It is lower than the 2020 pass rate which stood at 98.6% and 2024 one which was at 98. 47%.
This time 89.12% of the candidates have achieved entry to degree study, while 7.83 per cent qualified for diploma study.
More than 17,000 candidates wrote their matric exams in 2025 set by the IEB, and of those 1.34% achieved entry to Higher Certificate study, 0.02% achieved an endorsed NSC.
The results will be released to schools and learners at 1 pm on Monday evening.
IEB Chief Executive Officer, Confidence Dikgole explains why there’s been a decline,
“If you look at really statistical performance or performance statistically, you’ll see that the decline, it’s not even a decline, it’s a slight decrease. And I think it’s best to frame it within a particular context, noting that the IEB has been growing and growing significantly. And so if you consider that even despite the growth, and by the way, the growth is also a universal phenomenon. But as soon as you begin to see growth in an assessment system, you expect to see those fluctuations in the results and it’s a normal phenomenon.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap6uAa9fg0c
