Mixed reaction to matric maths exams

AS THE 2025 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations reach the halfway mark, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has commended the smooth administration of the exams across all nine provinces.

- SIPHESIHLE BUTHELEZI

However, many learners have expressed mixed emotions over the mathematics papers, describing them as challenging but manageable.

In a statement, the DBE reported that more than 920 000 candidates are currently writing their final examinations at 6 800 centres nationwide, with the process proceeding “smoothly, with stability, integrity and efficiency.”

The department acknowledged public discussions about the perceived difficulty of the 2025 Mathematics Paper 1 and Paper 2, assuring learners that all NSC papers were “carefully set to assess a full range of cognitive abilities” and that standardisation ensured “no learner is unfairly disadvantaged”.

There has been debate on social media about the examinations, with some arguing that the format was different to recent years and may have “shocked” some learners. Others said there were enough standard questions to allow most learners to achieve 50%.