By Johnathan Paoli

Parliament erupted into a heated debate as MPs confronted one of South Africa’s most contentious education questions, whether the country should finally scrap the idea of the 30% minimum pass level in matric.

The debate, initiated by Build One SA (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane on Friday, saw wide support across political benches for the argument that the current low subject threshold fails learners.

However, the MPs differed sharply on causes, solutions and potential consequences for the schooling system failures.

Tabling his motion, Maimane urged the National Assembly to move the pass mark from 30% to 50% progressively, saying that the country must embrace higher expectations if it hopes to build a competitive, future-ready generation.

“Ending the 30% pass rate is not only reform, it signals the seriousness we hold about standards. When we tell learners that 30% is enough, we are ignoring 70% of their potential,” he said.

Maimane linked the low standards to ongoing failures in early childhood development, overcrowded classrooms, literacy crises and unequal infrastructure.

Raising the bar, he said, must accompany reforms that address the roots of underperformance.

Despite differing political ideologies, most parties backed the call to scrap the 30% minimum in individual subjects, with several MPs describing it as an insult to young people’s capabilities.

uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) MP Sihle Ngubane said the 30% standard embraced mediocrity. He condemned it as a barrier to black children reaching their full potential.

Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) MP Mandla Shikwambana delivered one of the most blistering attacks, saying the low bar buried the potential of black children.

“Our children are not failing; they are being failed by overcrowded classrooms, schools without laboratories, and teachers who themselves came through a broken system,” he said.

The EFF insisted the pass benchmark should rise to 50% across subjects.

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Busaphi Machi warned that communicating 30% as acceptable was preparing children for disappointment, reinforcing failure rather than ambition.

While acknowledging the need for higher standards and stronger outcomes, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube warned against potential misrepresentations of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) system.

She said that “there is no such thing as a 30% overall pass mark in the NSC”.

She said that matriculants must satisfy a three-tier set of requirements; 40% in home language, 40% in two additional subjects, and 30% in three more.

Only 189 of the 724,000 learners who wrote matric last year passed with this absolute minimum combination.

She said that the overwhelming majority exceed these thresholds, warning that simply raising the Grade 12 bar could push dropout rates higher if foundational literacy and numeracy gaps remain unaddressed.

Gwarube urged Parliament to focus on early-grade interventions, teacher development and curriculum strengthening.

“Raising the matric pass rate alone will not solve the foundational learning crisis. If a child cannot read for meaning by Grade 4, their chances of succeeding beyond diminish sharply,” she said.

She highlighted the newly established National Education and Training Council as a key body for reviewing progression requirements.

Not all MPs agreed that raising the pass percentage alone would transform outcomes.

Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana cautioned Parliament against becoming “obsessed with thresholds”, saying the country risked creating a system where certificates appear impressive but reflect shallow learning.

“We cannot reduce education to a number. The question must remain of what competencies do our learners actually have,” he said.

Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Nazley Sharif echoed concerns about distortion, calling for a clear, honest and evidence-based conversation rather than relying on soundbites or political performance.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Marcus Moloko

South Africa’s latest crime statistics painted a harrowing picture, with nearly 200 rapes recorded on school grounds in the first two quarters of the 2025–2026 reporting year, an indication of the collapse of safety in spaces meant to protect children.

The latest crime stats confirmed the reason for marches, where protesters called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare gender based violence a national disaster.

A shocking revelation in the statistics, which were released last week, was the almost 200 rapes committed on school grounds between April and September 2025.

Political parties warned that schools were increasingly becoming sites of violent trauma.

The Democratic Alliance had previously described schools as a “bloodbath,” citing murders, assaults, and rapes within educational institutions.

“Between October and December last year, there were 7 murders, 24 attempted murders, 252 cases of assault/grievous bodily harm (GBH), and 61 rapes on the premises of schools, universities, colleges, day care/after care facilities,” the party said in a statement.

Fast forward to the current stats, and Action SA’s MP Dereleen James insisted that crime stats were not mere numbers but essential tools for policy decisions and public oversight.

James warned that the country was being captured by rampant lawlessness as murder, GBV, and gang-related killings continued to escalate.

She reiterated how the statistics painted a grim picture of a nation under siege and said that the release coincided with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, yet the data showed that GBV had increased across both quarters.

“Even schools are not being spared. Almost 200 rapes were recorded on school grounds during this period,” James said.

The party noted the delayed release of the 2025/2026 first and second quarter crime stats to argue that they revealed how GBV had increased across both quarters, confirming that vulnerable South Africans continued to face escalating danger in communities across the country.

James said ActionSA had continuously raised the alarm on escalating gang violence in the Western Cape, which had continued to rise, with data indicating 282 gang-related murders between April and June, followed by 293 between July and September, “making [it] clear that communities remain dangerously vulnerable to warring gangs”.

“In Cape Town, the picture becomes even more troubling. Four of the top five murder stations in the country fall within the city, making clear that it remains the epicentre of a deeper failure to end the violence terrorising forgotten communities.”

She said the delayed release of the crime stats inspired little confidence that government remained properly capacitated to deal with violent crime.

“[I]t is increasingly clear that South Africa has been captured by rampant lawlessness,” she said.

The latest crime stats showed that sexual offences remained high, with rape cases on the rise despite years of activism.

While civil society groups such as Women For Change, behind the nationwide shutdown, welcomed Ramaphosa’s declaration of GBV as a national disaster, activists said that government had failed to translate declarations into meaningful interventions.

Education unions and child protection organisations had demanded stronger safety measures, including the automatic inclusion of abusive educators in the Child Protection Register and the provision of psycho-social support in high-risk areas.

In August 2025, social justice group Section27 said School Governing Bodies (SGB), provincial and national departments of education, teacher unions, and policy makers needed to be unified in fighting a battle of violence seen in schools, as they were mirrors of deep-rooted issues facing society.

“In South Africa, high levels of gender-based violence, poverty, unemployment, and substance abuse create an environment where violence can take root and spread. This reflects within schools where we see both learner-on-learner violence and violence perpetrated by adults on learners.

“To truly make our schools safe for learners and teachers, the various stakeholders within our education system responsible for implementing policies need to play their role,” said Section27.

INSIDE EDUCATION

By Charmaine Ndlela

The Free State Department of Education on Monday launched a seven-day Holiday Support Programme for Grade R–9 learners at Tjhebelopele Primary School in Bloemfontein, aiming to keep pupils safe and engaged during the festive season while preparing them for the 2026 academic year.

According to the department’s spokesperson, Howard Ndaba, the initiative, led by MEC Dr Mamiki Julia Maboya, is designed to protect learners during the high-risk holiday period while supporting their academic and physical development.

“The programme brings together curriculum reinforcement, values-based education, social cohesion activities, and structured sporting sessions that also support early conditioning for the upcoming Athletics season.”

During her keynote address at the launch of the programme, Maboya stressed the importance of caring for learners beyond the classroom.

“No child should be idle, unsafe, or left vulnerable while the world around them becomes more dangerous,” she said.

“We must provide them with the knowledge that shields, the discipline that anchors, and values that guide.”

The department said the initiative aligns with South Africa’s national theme for the 2025 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, because it places learner protection and wellbeing at the centre of public action.

The department called on parents, caregivers, traditional leaders, faith-based organisations, youth movements and community structures to work with schools to ensure that children remain safe, supervised and supported during the holidays.

Maboya said the programme’s impact extends beyond the festive period.

“A Safer child becomes a stronger learner. A stronger learner becomes a capable adult and builds a prosperous province – this programme is about the future of the Free State,” she said.

INSIDE EDUCATION