This sounds familiar, doesn't it?

The Department of Education and Umalusi, the independent body that certifies and ensures the quality of matriculation examinations, today hit back at critics who lament about the quality of this year's matric results.

Both Umalusi and the Department of Education contended that the improvements in the matric pass rate signified a "first step to quality" education.

Director-General for the department of education Thami Mseleku said the criticism by some academics, media and commentators alleging that pupils' marks were inflated and question papers simplified were baseless.

Mr Mseleku said such negative comments displayed a lack of knowledge about the processes of quality assurance and the job done by Umalusi.

And it also sounds bad. "First step to quality" sounds really bad. They're not talking: education better. They're talking more like: educational collapse now happening at a decreasing rate. I mean, "first step"? That could mean anything. So I assume the worst.