The year is drawing to an end on a triumphant note for the former chairman of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, Mr Kader Asmal, after the publication of the end-of-school matriculation examination results.
His first full year in office as Minister of Education - to which he was appointed by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa after the June 1999 general election - witnessed a spectacular increase of nine percentage points in the overall pass rate. The 57.9 per cent pass rate, compared with 48.9 per cent last year, reversed the generally declining trend since 1994, when the African National Congress (ANC) came to power.
The apparent inability of the ANC administration to match the performance of white government and its black satellites was a source of embarrassment and concern to the new government. It was one reason why Mr Mbeki chose Mr Asmal - who had acquired a reputation for administrative efficiency and inspiring leadership as Minister of Water Affairs - to take over as Education Minister.
The success was particularly sweet for Mr Asmal as he had experienced a few difficult moments during the year, particularly when he was named as one of South Africa's 10 worst employers by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) because of his trenchant opposition to "irresponsible" strike action by teachers.
The South African Democratic Teachers Union, an affiliate of COSATU, was generous in its praise of Mr Asmal. It said: "Full credit must go to the Ministry and Department of Education." Mr Asmal, who set himself the task of raising the pass rate by five percentage points, was delighted that he had surpassed his objective. "We have gone well beyond the target and exceeded all expectations," he said.
A particularly successful component of his broad strategy of raising moral and fostering a culture of learning was that of identifying under-performing schools and actively intervening to help them overcome their problems.
"These efforts have paid off," Mr Asmal said. "The number of schools with a 0-20 per cent pass rate has decreased from 940 to 499."