A team of education experts from the DBE is currently monitoring examination centres to ensure the smooth administration of the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in provinces. This week, the Class of 2025 sat for a set of examination papers, including Physical Science; Mathematics Paper 2; Mathematics Literacy Paper 2; Technical Mathematics Paper 1; and Technical Sciences Paper 1.
Sharing her sentiments in relation to the track record of learner performance in Physical Sciences in the previous years, Ms Pfuluwani Mashapa, Chief Education Specialist for Physical Sciences at the DBE, said that the previous cohort encountered a decline in results given that they obtained 75.6% in 2024 as compared to 76.6 % in 2023, however, we have worked hard together with the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) to ensure that the Class of 2025 was adequately supported to raise the bar higher than their previous cohorts during the 2025 school calendar.
She added that “another area of concern is that the number of learners who achieved 60% and above also dropped from 35,345 (17,3%) in 2023 to 31,344 (15,7%) in 2024. Furthermore, the number of distinctions also declined from 6,870 (3,5%) in 2023 to 5,860 (2.8%) in 2025, which is a total decrease of 1,010 distinctions in a year. Due to surpassing the Annual Performance Target in 2023, the 2024 target was increased to 35,789, however given that the target was missed in 2024, the target remained unchanged for 2025”.
“In mitigation against the decline in Physical Sciences results, we conducted the training of novice teachers on methodology and assessment. The DBE further supported autumn, winter and spring camps conducted by the PEDs where learners were trained on how to answer questions at different cognitive levels. We also conducted online lessons on how learners should go about answering questions grouped according to topics. We even went as far as conducting lab assistant training in all provinces to restore the use of our science laboratories. We further provided intervention support to differentiate learners based on their level of understanding on Physical Sciences content, directed to highflyers, moderate achievers, and progressed learners. As part of our intervention support to provinces, we ensured that highflyers were posed with challenging and unforeseen questions. As for the moderate achievers, we pitched questions with a slightly higher cognitive level and integrated concepts from different topics. Finally, we had to ensure the progressed or struggling learners were fully prepared, paying attention to learning gaps identified in the assessments facilitated during the camps. Provinces have worked hard, and we believe that the Class of 2025 will stand a good chance to outperform the 2024 Class, particularly in Physical Sciences,” added Ms Mashapa. In conclusion, she wished the candidates who will be writing the Physical Sciences Paper 2 next week the best of luck.