The 88% matric pass rate is not the truth

Professor Jonathan Jansen expresses disappointment with the 88% national matric pass rate, describing the results as meaningless.

Jansen is a prominent South African academic, author, and public intellectual with an in-depth knowledge of the educational field.

He is a Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University and is recognised for his expertise in curriculum theory.

Speaking to Newzroom Africa, Jansen said the 88% national matric pass rate is meaningless.

“Over the past several years, the constant increase in the matric results has defied statistical and political gravity,” he said.

He said he has worked in the South African high school environment for the past two years, and the matric results do not reflect the truth.

“I know the truth. The truth is not what we heard from the Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube,” Jansen said.

He said the truth is that many of the kids which start school never make it to grade 12 and write their matric exams.

“What we are celebrating is a relatively small percentage of kids who started school and completed it twelve years later. It is an embarrassment,” he said.

He advised South Africans to move away from celebrating the matric results and engage in what he calls an annual theatre.

Many international studies, including the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), put South Africa at the bottom.

The country’s Mathematics and Science education is exceptionally poor and uncompetitive when compared with its peers globally.

However, it goes beyond the sciences. In South Africa, a significant majority of Grade 4 learners struggle with reading for meaning.

The 2021 PIRLS study showed that 81% of Grade 4 learners are unable to read for meaning, meaning only about 19% can actually comprehend texts at that level.

Professor Jonathan Jansen breaks down the matric results

Jansen also highlighted vital points that challenge the triumphant narratives surrounding the matric outcomes.

He urged a deeper look beyond ever-rising matric pass rates, highlighting systemic flaws and the need for genuine reform.

He said praise for well-resourced schools should be tempered, arguing their success is expected given their advantages.

The low pass threshold, often criticised as insufficient, further dampens celebrations, as it sets a bar too low for meaningful achievement.

He praised the hard work of teachers and students while condemning a structure that undermines them.

He dismisses the government for taking credit for the matric pass rate, attributing results more to coercion than support.

“The annual performance by ministers of education serves a political purpose – to convince the middle classes not to abandon the public examination,” he said.

Real change, he insists, must start at foundational levels like early education, as Grade 12 interventions come too late.

“The real test of the quality of the education system is the level of cohort participation and success in math and science,” he said.

“You will know the system is changing when the DG stops acting like a political hack and more like a senior administrator.”