One third of the NSC examinations have been successfully completed with no hiccups detected across all nine provinces. Exam papers that were facilitated within the first three weeks of the NSC included Computer Application Tech P1 (practical), Information Technology P1 (practical) and several home and first additional languages. The Class of 2025, especially learners in the Maths, Science, and Technology (MST) stream sat for the Mathematics Paper 1, the Mathematical Literacy Paper 1, and the Technical Mathematics Paper 1 today, 31 October 2025.

According to Mr Leonard Gumani Mudau, Chief Education Specialist for Mathematics at the DBE, the quality of Mathematics passes has improved drastically over the past years. He further dismissed a misconception held in the public domain concerning pass percentages for Mathematics, to the extent that the Basic Education Sector is wrongfully blamed for encouraging learners to pass with 30%. “The NSC aggregates are rated from level 1 to 7, which are sequentially arranged as follows; level 1:  0 - 29% fail, level 2:  30 - 39%; level 3: 40 - 49%; level 4: 50 - 59%; level 5: 60 - 69%; level 6: 70 - 79% and level 7: 80 -100%. A bachelor pass is granted to a candidate who achieves a minimum aggregate of level 4. The good news to highlight is that the number of learners who achieved 60% and above have improved from 41,249 (15,7%) in 2023 to 44,635 (17,7%) in 2024. Furthermore, the number of distinctions also improved from 8,960 (3,4%) in 2023 to 9,752 (3,9%), which is an 792 (0,5%) increase. The Annual Performance Plan target for Mathematics in 2025 is 46,867 passes (passes at 60% and above). In our intervention support to schools throughout the year, we ensured that learners at various level of performance were fully supported to realise their academic ambitions”.

He added that “we shared Mathematics Trial Papers for practice and gauging the level of understanding on Mathematics content and conducted revision programmes aimed at answering previous questions covering all cognitive levels. We further conducted online lessons answering questions grouped according to topics. We also went as far as supporting differentiate learners based on their level of understanding on Mathematics content. As such, highflyers were posed with challenging and unforeseen questions. We then pitched questions for moderate achievers a little bit higher and integrated concepts from different topics. When coming to the progressed or struggling learners, we posed questions, then corrected them in such a way that we were able to fill the gaps based on how a learner has answered the question. We further encouraged top performing teachers to teach in several underperforming schools one day per week within a cluster and Mathematics subject advisors were encouraged to mop up the topics with learners, focusing on Mathematics. The Class of 2025 will be sitting for Mathematics Paper 2, Mathematical Literacy Paper 2 and Technical Mathematics on 3 November 2025, and we wish the learners all the best for the remaining examination papers,” he concluded.