South Africa’s education crisis is worse than it seems
While South Africa celebrated the announcement of the 88% matric pass rate in 2025, the highest in the country’s history, a sky-high unemployment rate and low economic growth are signs that the country is facing a severe education crisis.
South Africa spends around 6% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education. This is 18% of all government spending and more than countries such as France, the UK or Australia spend.
Minister of Education, Siviwe Gwarube, celebrated the latest matric results as a return on this investment, with the pass rate increasing by 0.7% from 2024, even as the number of learners writing their final exams increased to 656,000 in 2025.
This indicates that education is not translating into skills readiness and innovation, leading to a lack of participation in high-value sectors by today’s graduates.
Osagyefo Mazwai, Wealth and Investment Strategist from Investec, said that education and matric pass rates are an early indicator of the country’s future economic capacity and labour force potential.
“Improving matric outcomes matters because education is one of the most powerful drivers of long-term GDP growth, alongside infrastructure investment,” he said.
“Economic growth and job creation are directly linked, and education is where that process begins. Basic education lays the foundation for a labour force that can fuel growth.”
The latest statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) paint a grim picture of the skills gap.
In the last quarter, 113,000 young people lost their jobs, pushing the total number of unemployed youth to 5.8 million, with the unemployment rate for those between 25 and 34 sitting at 44.3%.
South Africa risks entrenching youth unemployment
History shows prolonged youth disengagement fuels instability, Mazwai warned. The skills base in South Africa must be increased to meaningfully change the high unemployment rate.
Mazwai acknowledged that other work needs to be done by government to bring opportunities closer to young graduates. “Growth that is geographically and sector concentrated will not solve the youth employment crisis,” he said.
In addressing this skills gap, Professor HB Klopper, academic Dean at the Belgium Campus iTversity, commenting on the matric results, said that South Africa should focus less on matric university pass rates.
