The latest "matric"-level exam results for 2010 (taken at the end of 12 years of secondary schooling) show a welcome and surprising improvement from the previous year, reversing a six-year downward trend, although the challenges facing South Africa's education system remain enormous. The pass rate at matric jumped to 67.8% in 2010 (out of 537,543 students who sat the exam) from just 60.6% in 2009, thereby moving closer to the peak of 73.3% recorded in 2003. The economically powerful Gauteng province (up from 71.8% to 78.6%) captured top spot from the Western Cape (up from 75.7% to 76.8%). There was also a pleasing rise in the proportion of successful matriculants reaching university-entrance standard, from 19.9% in 2009 to 23.5% in 2010-a multi-year high. However, the headline data continue to mask significant failings. More than one-half (55%) of the students who entered matriculation 12 years ago either dropped out or failed, while pass rates in maths and science remain low and a large number of schools had very poor results (50% of passes came from 19% of schools). Not surprisingly, the pass rate in independent school exams (sat by 8,285 pupils) was much higher, at 98.4%.

The government is clearly pleased with the results, especially given the disruption caused by the World Cup in mid-year and a month-long teachers' strike in August/September in the run-up to exams. Officials attribute part of the improvement to growing familiarity with the new syllabus (introduced in 2008), better teacher training and structural reforms in education (including the split of the ministry into separate basic and higher departments in 2009). There are the usual concerns about exam standards slipping (echoing worries in other countries) but there is no real evidence that this is occurring. Standards are maintained by a statutory body, Umalasi, and South Africa's matric exam continues to be widely recognised as a satisfactory qualification. However, fewer than one-half of South Africa's children reach this level, and matric neither guarantees a job nor provides the skills needed in the economy: the tertiary level is far more important for skill building. South Africa's universities are relatively strong (with three in the world's top 500-Cape Town, Witwatersrand and Pretoria), but non-academic and technical tertiary education remains much weaker, despite repeated policy initiatives. Serious challenges remain, although the improvement in matric results offers some hope of gradual improvement.