THERE has been an increase in the number of candidates who passed this year's Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric exams.

THERE has been an increase in the number of candidates who passed this year's Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric exams.

IEB chief executive Anne Oberholzer said yesterday that 97,42 percent of candidates passed this year's National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.

Of the candidates who passed 79,54 percent qualified for university entry.

"Another 15,27 percent qualify for entry to diploma study and 2,61 percent for the higher certificate level," she said.

This year's IEB pass rate is slightly up from last year's 97,03 percent.

The IEB exams were written by 8056 pupils at 168 schools across the country in accordance with the provisions stipulated by Umalusi, which has approved the results.

Oberholzer said they had identified 56 pupils with an "outstanding achievement" in six or more subjects and who had achieved 80 percent or more in life orientation.

She said the transition to the NSC in 2008 was "seamless", with pupils maintaining their "exceptionally high standards of performance".

"It is clear that the combined efforts of learners and teachers, with the support of parents and school managers, have produced a set of results of which learners can be proud," she said.

"Being only the second year of implementation, there are areas of the curriculum and assessment that are still settling down.

"New subjects such as mathematics literacy and life orientation are establishing their credibility in an education environment that is increasingly sceptical."

Oberholzer said at IEB schools 10 percent more pupils took Mathematics than at other schools.

During the exams there was an error in the Physical Science Paper 1, which made it unanswerable.

In processing final results, the question was ignored.

It would have accounted for three percent of the total marks attainable after the inclusion of the school-based assessment component.