Note to Broadcasters: Please find the attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Wolfgang Wallhorn.
The DA congratulates the Class of 2025 on completing the National Senior Certificate examinations. Achieving a provincial pass rate of 88.49%, an increase from 2024’s 87.5%, is a big improvement and is testament to the determination of learners who persevered under difficult circumstances.
We also extend our special congratulations to learners in no-fee schools, who achieved a strong 87% pass rate. This performance stands proudly alongside that of fee-paying schools, which achieved an 85.3% pass rate, proving once again that excellence is not defined by a school’s fee structure, but by effort, commitment, and resilience.
Behind these results, however, are daily struggles that cannot be ignored. During DA oversight visits throughout last year, and again during school readiness visits this week, we saw firsthand the challenges learners and teachers face. At Bethel High School, hostels have no running water and no beds, while classrooms are missing ceilings. At Herman Thebe Secondary School, a fire destroyed the girls’ hostel, forcing learners into overcrowded rooms and leaving them to use unhygienic, makeshift ablution facilities.
We found that many of the issues we faced persisted across different schools. Most schools still lack science and computer laboratories. There is a severe shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in Mathematics, Physical Sciences, technical subjects, and mother-tongue education. Classrooms are overcrowded, with one school telling us it has been requesting additional classrooms for four years without any response from the department. Mobile classrooms have been vandalised and neglected, causing them to deteriorate. At a special needs school, teaching assistants were instructed to leave at the end of November last year, immediately placing added strain on already overcrowded classrooms. Drug abuse and teenage pregnancies were also raised as serious and growing concerns.
Yet despite these obstacles, learners continue to arrive at school, study under pressure, and push themselves to succeed. Their resilience should inspire urgent action, not complacency.
The DA welcomes the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube’s honest assessment of what the 2025 results reveal, particularly the ongoing loss of learners between Grades 10 and 12. Improving learner retention, strengthening academic support, and building strong foundations in literacy and numeracy must be treated as priorities.
The DA remains committed to fighting for safe schools, reliable transport, qualified teachers, proper infrastructure, and basic services. Our learners have done their part. It is now time for the Provincial Government to do theirs.