Western Cape pass rate hides two different realities, says former Statistician-General

Fresh off the celebrations,of the record pass rate for the 2025 Matric exams, one voice is calling for a closer look at what the results really mean for the Western Cape.

High pass rates often reinforce the idea of a province that’s getting education right, but former Statistician-General Pali Lehohla said that the numbers can be misleading.

He argues that focusing on averages hides the real picture, one of continued divides between the haves and have-nots.

"Averages are the hiding place of the truth", writes Lehohla in a recent opinion piece in the Times.

He says the annual 'charade of celebrations' is providing a smokescreen for the reality of the situation.

"When you lift the lid on this, you realise that it is a parade rather than a liberation."

Focusing on averages reinforces privileged schools. "You have to look beyond percentages,” he said.

"If you look at the matric results for IEB, they only have 17,000 or 18,000 students who write matric, as opposed to the 700,000 that are part of the celebration."

Lehohla said that the Western Cape reveals two very different realities.

In affluent areas like the southern suburbs and Stellenbosch, schools benefit from good funding, strong infrastructure and support systems; that's not the case in places like Khayelitsha and Blue Downs.

We see a "mirror of inequality" where two distinct republics exist within the same geographic boundary, he said.

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Lehohla identifies the Cape Flats as an example and said that the situation there is "very dire" and many schools on the flats are dysfunctional.

Lehohla said the concern is that celebrating averages risks ignoring reality and perpetuating inequality.

To listen to Lehohla, use the audio player below: