Education

The 2010 matric results in South Africa were better than expected, with 67.8% of pupils passing the 2010 exams, up 7.1% from the results achieved in 2009.

The dramatic improvement in the matric pass rate has come as a surprise to many; after all, the 2010 generation of 12th graders lost many school days in June due to the Fifa world cup, and then again in September because of a teachers’ strike.

There are stories of Herculean efforts to compensate for the hurdles thrown the 2010 matrics’ way. ... more

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These days, South African secondary school pupils are taking the most important academic exam in their lives so far: the matric exam, a prerequisite (but by no means a guarantee) for enrolling in institutions of tertiary education . ... more

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South African national pass rate of the National Senior Certificate examinations fell once again in 2009, reaching only 60.7 percent. The National Senior Certificate examinations are held at the end of high school (grade 12) and are a necessary requirement for enrolling into the institutions of higher, tertiary education.

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Illiteracy rates in South Africa are high and stand at about 24 percent of the population over 15 years of age: 4.7 million adults never went to school, and further 4.9 million are functionally illiterate. Provinces with the largest number of illiterate people are KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, followed by Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West. The lowest numbers occur in the Free State, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape. ... more

Higher or tertiary education includes education for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, certificates and diplomas, up to the level of the doctoral degree. ... more