South Africa's 2026 Matric Exams Begin, Running to November 26; Ramaphosa Calls the Certificate a Passport to the Future
South Africa's 2026 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, the matric exams, began on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, and will run until November 26. SAnews reported that Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli expressed confidence this year's class will surpass the Class of 2025, looking toward a pass rate in the 90s; the 2025 examinations recorded a national pass rate of 88 percent, setting the benchmark.
Ahead of the exams, nationwide pledge-signing ceremonies were held on Friday, October 9, at which candidates committed to honesty, discipline and integrity. President Cyril Ramaphosa told Free State matriculants at the provincial ceremony in Qwaqwa not to let a momentary lapse jeopardise years of hard work, warning them to reject stolen question papers: those implicated could be barred from the qualification and even arrested. 'Believe in yourselves, for we believe in you,' he said. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, at Fezeka Secondary School in the Western Cape, likewise urged integrity and discipline, saying there are no shortcuts to success.
The Free State figures illustrate the scale: 48,141 candidates (39,352 full-time and 8,789 part-time) writing at 409 examination centres in that province alone. The Free State held the country's highest pass rate for three consecutive years from 2022 to 2024 before KwaZulu-Natal ended the streak in 2025, and Ramaphosa encouraged it to reclaim the top spot.
The matric is the gateway to university and the job market for South African youth, with results each January a national family event. For Chinese families in South Africa, learners at Chinese schools and local schools alike reached this milestone in the same week; the Free State education department scheduled rewrites of the Computer Applications Technology and Information Technology Paper 1 examinations for November 26 at 09:00.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 南非学童上学途中。摄影：NickSmuts42，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
