two cents worth
Matric has been classed as sitting in between O level & A level when assessing university entramce, forgetting for the moment the politicians attempts to dumb Matric down.
It is worth noting that there seems to be a world wide decline in standards of science and maths in schools, though SA matric seems to be way ahead of the general trend. It is seen as "too hard" and no-one wants to study "that stuff" any more.
The universities are expected to fix all the problems as more and more inadequately educated school leavers queue up for places with worthless school leaving certificates. In an already crowded curriculum, it is an impossible task to make good on 12 years of poor schooling so we end up with crappy graduates.
I once mentored a UCT engineering undergraduate who with 10 months to go before getting his degree was unable to write a business letter or a technical report without major assistance. When I asked him about his plans, he told me he was not interested in this engineering stuff but instead was going to get himself a cushy number on the Boards of one of the parastatals!
I am not sure if he did this but if so he must be laughing at the experienced professionals trying so hard to maintain a standard!