Bid To Raise South Africa’s Matric Pass Mark To Fifty Percent Fails As Parliament Rejects Proposed Reform

The motion was tabled by Build One South Africa (Bosa) leader Mmusi Maimane, who argued that the low minimum pass mark sets a low bar for students, undermines the credibility of the National Senior Certificate (NSC), and leaves matriculants ill-prepared for tertiary education and the competitive job market. Maimane advocated for a gradual increase to signal the country's commitment to higher educational standards.

While the proposal was supported by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and ActionSA, it was defeated after the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) - as the country's two largest parties - voted against it.

Debate and rejection

During the debate, critics of the motion, including the Department of Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, emphasised that the public often misunderstands the existing pass requirements.

Gwarube explained that in order to pass the NSC, a learner must pass a three-tier set of subject requirements: 40% in a home language, 40% in a further two subjects and 30% in another three additional subjects, while higher percentage thresholds apply in obtaining a diploma or bachelor pass.

She further pointed out that the minimum threshold often spoken about is not the norm: “Out of the 724,000 learners who wrote the NSC last year, only 189 passed with this minimum subject combination."

Opponents also cautioned that raising the pass mark in isolation, without first addressing foundational learning crises — such as early literacy and numeracy gaps — and vast infrastructural inequality, would simply lead to a sharp decrease in the pass rate and disproportionately penalise learners from under-resourced schools.