The class of 2024 entered grade 8, right at the beginning of the Covid-19, this class has managed to overcome several challenges because of the pandemic. Picture: Minister Siviwe Gwarube/X
Despite severe weather warnings for thunderstorms and floods in at least seven provinces, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube, said the department was ready for the start of the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC) Exams.
On Monday, over 800,000 matric hopefuls are expected to commence their final exams for the English Paper 3 examination.
“We are proud to announce that we are ready to administer the 2024 NSC exams,” Gwarube said during a press conference held Sunday.
The South African Weather Services issued a Yellow level 4 warning for severe thunderstorms in parts of Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the southern parts of Limpopo, while on Saturday similar warnings were forecast in KZN, Eastern Cape, the eastern Free State and eastern North West province.
Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga told IOL in a writtten statement that they were part of the disaster management forum, where planning takes place for managing weather related emergencies that may occur.
The ministry said it has an agreement with SANDF to deploy resources essential to protecting the examinations through the support of the sector.
“Authorities are on standby to provide school learners and the department with help that may be needed should the need arise,” said Mhlanga.
Gwarube, who replaced Angie Motshekga as Basic Education Minister, said the NSC exams were a mammoth task for government.
There will be 727,121 full-time candidates and 155,215 part-time candidates who will be sitting for this exam. That means that a total of 882, 336 candidates across South Africa will sit for the 2024 matric exams.
“Outside of the national and local government elections, I have yet to learn of any other logistical project of this magnitude because we are rolling this out across all nine provinces in various communities,” she said.
In terms of private schools, 16,400 learners will be taking part in the IEB exams, the minister said.
Gwarube said that these learners have faced a range of challenges throughout their academic journeys due to the impact of Covid-19 in their earliest schooling years.
The class of 2024 entered Grade 8 in 2020 right at the height of the pandemic and the disruption impacted their formative years, she explained.
It is because of this that government has instituted several mitigation measures to address these gaps. Government provided personalised learning interventions, additional teaching support, and social and emotional care across all provinces, Gwarube said.
She added that the department also rolled out face-to-face extra tuition sessions on Saturdays, catch-up programs and extended school hours in key subjects especially for the learners who struggled to cope with the curriculum due to early disruptions.
The minister said that the department has ensured that all learners with disabilities are provided with adequate “special accommodations” and this included braille papers and large print papers.
“The South African sign language adaptations have been made to ensure that learners have all the resources and support they need to succeed,” Gwarube said.
On the exam papers, the minister said that the setting, printing and distribution of question papers has been completed with a total of 162 quality-assured papers approved.
“Taking lessons from previous instances of editing errors the department has introduced additional quality gates for an extra layer of check,” she added.
“In terms of security, the department has taken extensive precautions to save the integrity of the examination process.
“We have completed audits of all storage facilities across the country to ensure that they meet the required standards for security and handling of examination materials,” Gwarube said.
She added that all exam materials are stored under strict conditions and provincial education departments have been equipped with protocols to ensure the safe and secure handling of question papers.
“Furthermore distribution trucks will be equipped with tracking systems to monitor their movements to ensure that question papers reach exam centres on time without compromise,” the minister said.
Gwarube said that to ensure the integrity of the exams, the department also deployed 70 part-time monitors to oversee high-risk examination centres to prevent irregularities such as group copying or leakage of exam papers.
Once the exams are completed the department will place a huge focus on the marketing process.
The minister said that managing this part of the process is critical to ensure the credibility and the fairness of the exams.
Lastly, the department has appointed over 55,000 qualified markers across 188 marking centres nationwide.
“These markers have been selected based on strict criteria to ensure that only experienced and qualified educators participate in the marketing process,” Gwarube said.
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