Despite major improvements in access to education over the past two decades, nearly half of South African adults still do not have a matric qualification, while millions of children continue to rely on no-fee schools and government feeding schemes.
New data from Statistics South Africa paints a mixed picture of the country’s education system in 2025.
It indicates progress in literacy and school access, but also highlights persistent inequality and growing dependence on state support.
The findings are contained in the latest General Household Survey (GHS), released this week, which compares trends between 2002 and 2025.
Nearly half of adults still without matric
The survey found that about 18.9 million South Africans aged 20 years and older did not have a Grade 12 qualification in 2025.
This means 47.1% of adults still lacked matric, despite improvements over the past 23 years.
In 2002, around 69.5% of adults did not have a matric qualification, indicating progress in educational attainment.
The number of adults with Grade 12 qualifications nearly tripled over the same period.
In 2002, approximately 5.4 million adults had matric. By 2025, that number had increased to 14.5 million.
Post-school qualifications also improved significantly, rising from 2.3 million adults in 2002 to 6.7 million in 2025.
More pupils depend on state-funded education
The survey also highlights the growing dependence on government-funded education.
In 2009, 46.8% of pupils attended no-fee schools. By 2025, that figure had risen to 65.1%.
Meanwhile, the percentage of pupils attending fee-paying schools declined from 53.2% to 34.9%.
Government feeding schemes have also expanded considerably over the years.
In 2009, about 6.6 million pupils benefited from school nutrition programmes. By 2025, the number had grown to more than 10.3 million.
The percentage of qualifying pupils receiving meals increased from 65.1% in 2009 to 78.4% in 2025.
Functional illiteracy declines
The data shows improvements in literacy levels among adults aged 20 years and older.
According to Stats SA, the percentage of functionally illiterate adults declined from 28.5% in 2002 to 8.7% in 2025.
The proportion of functionally literate adults increased from 71.5% to 91.3% over the same period.
However, around 3.5 million adults were still classified as functionally illiterate in 2025.
Early childhood education remains a concern
The survey’s most concerning findings relate to children under the age of five.
In 2025, only 36.3% of children attended Grade R, preschool, nursery school, crèche or educare centres.
More than half remained at home with parents or guardians instead of attending formal learning institutions.
Alarmingly, nearly 70% of children aged five and six did not attend school or a formal educational institution.
This age group has become the focus of recent education reforms, particularly the implementation of the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act and the introduction of compulsory Grade R.
The Bela Act, signed into law last year, aims to make Grade R compulsory and strengthen oversight in schools.
The legislation forms part of government’s broader push to improve early childhood development outcomes and ensure children enter the schooling system earlier.
However, the latest Stats SA figures suggest that many young children are still being left behind before formal schooling even begins.
The data also raises questions about whether the education system has enough infrastructure, classrooms and qualified Grade R teachers to support the expansion of compulsory early childhood education.
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) in July 2025 admitted that more than 7 000 grade R teachers across South Africa are not qualified to teach the grade.
There are 25 944 qualified Grade R teachers in the system.
The DBE also raised concerns about disparities in classroom sizes, particularly where some schools use Afrikaans as a medium of instruction to maintain class sizes as small as 24 pupils, while others remain overcrowded.
“Provincial Education Districts are to introduce parallel medium schools in order to balance learner numbers across districts,” it said at the time.
While South Africa has made notable gains in literacy and school access since 2002, the 2025 data shows that deep educational challenges remain entrenched, particularly among poorer households and younger children.
