Education department asks society to treat matrics like VIPS until exams end on 5 December
Staff reporter
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has announced that 76,903 pupils are scheduled to sit for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in the Western Cape this year.
In statement on Monday, Kerry Mauchline, spokesperson for education MEC David Maynier, said of these, 64,105 are full-time candidates, and 12, 798 are part-time candidates.
Mauchline stated the written exams begin on Monday 30 October, with 66, 831 candidates writing English Home Language, First Additional Language, or Second Additional Language in the morning. Over the exam period, 123 exams will be written. The period ends on 5 December with the Agricultural Technology paper.
She stated practical exams start this week with Computer Applications Technology (11,731 candidates) on 24 October 2023 and Information Technology (1,000 candidates) on 25 October.
She stated there are four subjects with just a single candidate writing in the Western Cape: IsiZulu Home Language, IsiZulu First Additional Language, Portuguese First Additional Language, and Telegu Second Additional Language. There are 13 candidates for the South African Sign Language Home Language exam.
She stated the exams will be written at 469 exam centres, overseen by 1,878 invigilators who will keep a close eye on proceedings and any potential irregularities. Marking will get underway after the final written exam, and 928,000 exam scripts will be marked by 4,158 markers and checked by 1,046 mark-checkers.
She stated the national results announcement will take place on 18 January 2024 and results will be available to learners at schools and online on Friday 19 January 2024.
Regarding contingencies and disruptions, she stated: “While our department prepares contingency plans each year, disruptions in the form of strikes and protests have a detrimental effect on our candidates. Matric is a stressful enough time without our learners having to worry about getting to their exams safely. We appeal to everyone in the Western Cape to treat our matrics as the VIPs of our province for the next few weeks. We do not want to see their futures compromised by the selfish actions of the few.”
She stated the WCED was also mindful of the impact of the ongoing loadshedding, and assured matrics that the “necessary protocols” were in place for exams to continue in the case of both scheduled and unscheduled power outages.
“To our matrics: the time is now. Make sure that you keep your head down and keep working right up until your last exam!” she stated.