As South Africa focuses on excellence in pure Mathematics and Physical Sciences, last year’s matric results suggest it may not be paying off as much as hoped.
While the matric pass rate hit a historic high at 88%, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) shared details about these results with the parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education and the select committee on education, science and creative industries.
The department briefed the committees on the outcomes of the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations on Tuesday and conceded that performance in key Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects remains a concern.
“The drop in the Mathematics and Physical Science learners performing above 60% needs a focused improvement strategy – STEM subjects must be prioritised, and an integrated approach must be pursued,” the DBE stated.
Distinctions in maths and physics
The presentation showed that fewer candidates achieved distinctions in Mathematics and the Physical Sciences in 2025 than in 2024.
In 2024, there were 251 488 potential distinctions, although only 9 752 achieved distinctions, which is 3.9%.
Although in 2025, potential distinctions increased to 253 368, only 4 897 candidates achieved distinctions – just 1.9%.
Mathematical Literacy saw a slight increase in the number of distinctions. However, because more pupils qualified to potentially achieve distinctions, the overall percentage dipped from 2.7% in 2024 to 2.6% in 2025.
The DBE flagged the “migration of learners to Mathematical Literacy and the decline in Mathematics uptake” as “of serious concern”, noting participation now stands at 34.6% for Mathematics compared with 65% for Mathematical Literacy.
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Drop in pupils scoring above 60%
Concerningly, the number of pupils achieving above 60% in Mathematics dropped by more than 10 000, the lowest level since 2022.
In Physical Sciences, 30 071 pupils achieved above 60% in 2025, down from 31 345 in 2024. The last lower figure was recorded in 2020, when 26 641 pupils crossed the 60% mark.
The DBE acknowledged that “11 subjects where performance dropped” and said it would develop an improvement plan guided by the National Diagnostic Report.
Performance across the 2025 class
The Mathematics pass rate declined by nearly five percentage points from in 2024 69.1% to 64% in 2025.
However, physical sciences saw an increase from 2024 to 2025, by 1.7 percentage points. Maths lit saw an increase of 0.1 percentage points, receiving 86.1 % in 2024 and 86.2% in 2025.
The highest performing non-language subject was History with 91.8%, while the worst performing was Mathematics with 64%
Despite the overall 88% pass rate, the DBE stressed that “both participation and performance in specific subjects must be the focus of future monitoring,” signalling a renewed push to strengthen pure Mathematics, Physical Sciences and other critical STEM subjects.
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