Can KZN reach a 95% matric pass rate? Education experts divided on 2025 goal

THE KwaZulu-Natal Education Department has set an ambitious goal to increase the matric pass rate to at least 95% by 2025, but education stakeholders question whether this target-focused approach addresses fundamental learning challenges. While officials celebrate recent successes, teachers' unions warn about burnout and the neglect of holistic education in pursuit of statistical achievements.

The recent  announcement, made by Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka, comes on the back of what he described as a “buoyant start” to the academic year following the strong performance of the Class of 2024.

“While we celebrated those achievements, we recognised that our real challenge lay ahead, to surpass our own success,” said Hlomuka during the announcement. 

“We therefore developed a 2025 Academic Improvement Plan, aimed at improving our pass rate from 89.5% to a minimum of 95%, with the ultimate goal of reaching 100%.”

According to Hlomuka, each of the province’s twelve districts had crafted district-specific improvement plans aligned to the overall provincial strategy. These have already been activated across schools.

“Our provincial vision remains clear: every pupil who sits for the final examination must pass. We know that external factors sometimes make a 100% pass rate difficult, but we are determined not to fall below 95%. This would still represent significant growth from 2024,” he said.

However, not all education stakeholders are convinced that setting such a high target was the right move.

Thirona Moodley, spokesperson for the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA), expressed strong reservations. 

“Setting targets for the NSC exams does not necessarily translate to success, particularly when we have Grade 4 learners who cannot read for meaning.

“We have primary schools who are struggling with answering an exam paper because learners cannot read for meaning. The department must stop setting NSC targets that supposedly show the success of the system.” 

She further criticised the department’s practice of labelling underperforming schools without accounting for the support.

“The targets and matric results do not necessarily mean that teaching and learning for the past 12 years of the pupil’s school life has been a success. The department uses these targets to name and shame schools labelling them under performing yet the department cannot show how they have supported these schools.

“Teachers are burnt out because they are forced to teach every weekend and school holiday. The competition between provinces has contributed to this rat race and our teachers are under tremendous pressure,” said Moodley.

Linda Shezi, president of the KwaZulu-Natal Principals Association, welcomed the department's aspirations but warned against turning schools into performance factories focused solely on statistics.

“The intention to improve academic outcomes and give young people a good educational grounding is noble.

“However, of even more importance is preparing young people for a future unknown. That warrants more discourse than a myopic fascination with stats. It is an intention that should not be overshadowed by political point-scoring.”

Shezi highlighted the commitment of school leaders and teachers who already go above and beyond, with early starts, late finishes, weekend classes, and holiday camps, often with limited resources.

“The big stress is the context within which large sections of our schools still operate. Character building is being neglected. Emotional intelligence, sporting, spiritual, and cultural development are all critical for producing well-rounded individuals. A narrow focus on academic results could be one of our biggest mistakes.”

Shezi applauded the teachers who “make it happen with limited resources” and emphasised the importance of monitoring systems that promote holistic development.

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