KwaZulu-Natal shone bright as it was crowned the top-performing province in the 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, achieving an overall pass rate of 90.6%. This marks a 1.1% increase from 2024 and sees KZN replace the Free State as the nation’s leader.
The national pass rate, announced by Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube on Monday, was 88%, an improvement from 87.3% in 2024. “This is the highest pass rate in our country’s history,” said Gwarube. “In 2025, over 656,000 pupils passed the National Senior Certificate. That figure carries the effort of teachers, learners and families in every corner of our country.”
Many schools in Tongaat and Verulam performed admirably. Tongaat Secondary achieved 93%, Glenhaven 93.8%, Fairbreeze and Mountview Secondary each achieved 95.2%, Nkosibomvu 95.6%, Verulam Secondary 99%, and Belverton 99.3%. Bufflesdale, Liv Village and Masakane Girls Secondary all posted a perfect 100% pass rate.
Muzi Mahlambi, spokesperson for the KZN Department of Education, said the province’s success was due to its academic improvement programme, rolled out three years ago. “After each set of results, we sit down to see what worked and what didn’t, then we consolidate and roll out interventions. We created camps, early morning classes, late afternoon classes, weekend classes. We would like to thank our educators for their dedication and resilience demonstrated throughout the year despite the challenges we experienced as a province, as well as the teacher unions and other stakeholders for their support.”
Principal Dave Moonsamy of Masakane Girls Secondary, which achieved 100%, was proud of the result. He said: “We achieved not only a 100% pass rate, which we have before but also a 100% bachelors pass rate for the first time this year. Our top pupil earned 5 A’s. As a school we are excited by the outstanding results, credit for this achievement goes to our hardworking team, as well as our studious pupils. This is a boarding school, during the third term break, our pupils remained onsite to continue their learning, engaging in intensive programs that have paid off. Well done to our hard-working teachers and our dedicated pupils.”
Mountview Secondary also posted excellent results, achieving an impressive pass rate of 95.2%, reflecting a significant improvement on 2024. Principal Indran Govender expressed sincere appreciation to the teaching staff and parents for their unwavering support. He said the collective effort of the school community played a crucial role in creating an environment conducive to pupils’ success.
Deputy Principal Meloshnie Pillay said: “This achievement stands as a testament to the dedication, resilience and hard work of both learners and educators throughout the academic year. Mountview Secondary School congratulates the class of 2025 on their excellent performance. The school remains committed to upholding a culture of academic excellence and looks forward to building on this success in years to come.”
KZN Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli attributed the achievement to collective collaboration among educators, unions, pupils, parents, school governing bodies, the Department of Education and the KZN Executive Council. “These results reflect what is possible when we work together with a shared vision and purpose. The success of the Class of 2025 is a testament to disciplined leadership, committed educators, resilient learners and the collective efforts of all stakeholders.”
KZN featured prominently in the national top ten districts, with six placements: Umkhanyakude, Pinetown, Umlazi, Ugu, Ilembe, and Amajuba.
The NSC results by province, from ninth to first, were: Eastern Cape (84.17%), Limpopo (86.15%), Mpumalanga (86.55%), Northern Cape (87.79%), Western Cape (88.2%), North West (88.49%), Gauteng (89.06%), Free State (89.33%), and KwaZulu-Natal (90.6%).
