IEB 2025 Matric Results: Pass Rate Slips To 98.3% As Bachelor’s Entries Ease

The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) has released the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) results, confirming an overall pass rate of 98.3%. The results were made public on Monday morning.

This outcome represents a marginal decline compared with 2024, when the IEB recorded its strongest performance in five years. Despite the slight dip, the results continue to reflect a consistently high standard across the independent schooling sector.

Most candidates remain well positioned for further study, with a significant majority qualifying for entry into tertiary education, although bachelor’s-level passes have edged down year on year.

IEB 2025 Matric Pass Rate and Tertiary Entry Breakdown

According to the IEB, 89.12% of candidates achieved a bachelor’s degree pass in 2025, granting access to degree-level study. This figure is marginally lower than the previous year.

Other qualification outcomes were distributed as follows:

Diploma study: Nearly 8% of candidates qualified

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Higher Certificate study: About 1.3% achieved entry

Endorsed National Senior Certificate: Awarded to a very small number of learners

In total, more than 17,400 candidates sat for the examinations across South Africa.

Provincial Participation in the 2025 IEB Exams

Gauteng recorded the highest participation levels, with candidates drawn from 114 schools across the province.

KwaZulu-Natal contributed close to 3,000 candidates, while the Northern Cape saw the lowest participation, with only three schools taking part in the IEB examinations.

Top Achievers Recognised by the IEB

The IEB acknowledged 161 pupils for exceptional academic performance. These learners placed in the top 5% across six subjects and achieved distinctions in all of their subjects, according to reports accompanying the results release.

Remarks Process and National Results Timeline

Candidates who wish to apply for a remark have until 30 January to submit their applications. The outcomes of these remark requests are scheduled for release on 4 March, subject to approval by Umalusi.

While the IEB results have already been published, the national picture will become clearer later on Monday evening, when Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube announces the 2025 national matric results in Gauteng. Individual results for the public school cohort are expected to be released on Tuesday.

How the IEB Pass Rate Has Trended Over Time

• 2020: 98.07% pass rate; 88.42% bachelor’s passes
• 2021: 98.39% pass rate; 89.2% bachelor’s passes
• 2022: 98.42% pass rate; 89.32% bachelor’s passes
• 2023: 98.46% pass rate; 88.59% bachelor’s passes
• 2024: 98.47% pass rate; 89.37% bachelor’s passes

The 2025 results continue this long-term trend of high performance, despite the slight year-on-year decline.

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