Page 14 - Education Supplement February 2026

IEB EDITORIAL

98,31% PASS RATE

IEB National Senior Certificate examination results across independent schools, 2020-2025

Year No. of Candidates PASS% Bachelor Degree Pass %
2025 15 792 98,31 89,12

2024 14 761 98,47 89,37

2023 13 752 98,46 88,59
2022 12 381 98,42 88,32

2021 12 650 98,39 89,20

2020 11 792 98,07 88,12

All IEB assessments are independently quality
assured by Umalusi, the Quality Assurance
Council in the General and Further Education
and Training sector, to ensure fairness, validity
and reliability in assessment. This external
oversight secures long-term confidence in the
IEB NSC – for families, universities and tertiary FURTHER STUDIES
institutions both locally and internationally.

Advanced subjects offering greater academic depth,
For learners seeking additional academic
aligned to international benchmarks and
challenge, the IEB offers Further Studies subjects,
supporting university readiness.
benchmarked against International standards,
such as A levels. These subjects deepen
✔ Independent assessment
subject mastery and strengthen readiness for
university-level work and are offered by learners ✔ Recognised by universities
in both independent and public schools.
✔ Designed for academic depth

PREPARING LEARNERS FOR A
DBE Independent
CHANGING WORLD Schools (6,9%)
Today’s young people are growing up in a
DBE Public Schools
world defined by complexity, information (20,2%)
overload and constant change. The IEB
ensures that assessment keeps pace – 247 Schools Independent Online
without sacrificing rigour. Providers (1,2%)
IEB ISC Schools
(2,0%)
IEB assessments prioritise reasoning, IEB NSC Schools
(69,7%)
application and critical thinking. Classrooms
become spaces for challenge-driven learning,
collaboration, and problem-solving –
preparing learners not only for examinations
but also for the demands of higher education
and professional life.

Education | February 2026 | 12