WATCH: BOSA, ActionSA say real matric pass rate is under 60%

By Levy Masiteng 

Build One South Africa (BOSA) and ActionSA have challenged the government’s announcement of an 88% matric pass rate for the class of 2025, and have instead put forward “real” pass rates of 54.7% and 57.7%, respectively.

The criticism came after Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announced on Monday night that the Class of 2025 had achieved an overall pass rate of 88% — the highest in the country’s history.

ActionSA spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni said that the government’s celebration of the 88% pass rate was “triumphal rhetoric” that masked the true performance of South Africa’s basic education system. 

BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons echoed this sentiment, saying the 30% pass mark was “nothing more than Bantu Education in the modern era”, entrenching low expectations and masking systemic