The committee is satisfied with the report on the preparation of the matric examinations

The Basic Education Portfolio Committee is pleased with the updated status report on matric preparation, noting that the first day went smoothly, despite challenges posed by harsh weather conditions in the Eastern Cape .

On Tuesday, the Portfolio Committee received an update report from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Higher Education and Training (Umalusi) on the preparation for exams for the National Senior Certificate (NSC).

The committee said it noted concerns that the weather has already had an impact on exams, testing the DBE’s contingency plans in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, where storms disrupted electricity supplies , preventing 12th grade students from taking Computer Applied Technology (CAT) practice. exam

The exam was scheduled for Tuesday.

“The committee has however ensured that as part of its planning, the DBE ensures that more than one question paper is set and that Umalusi approves the quality for each examination so that the 400 students affected will take the exam on another date,” the committee said in a statement.

Committee chairperson Joy Maimela said while the committee is concerned about back-up plans to deal with all eventualities, their fears have been allayed by the contingency plans that have been reported.

“We urge the DBE and provincial education departments (PEDs) to take note of further weather warnings and make the necessary plans to accommodate our matric students.”

READ | Eastern Cape disaster teams on high alert

The committee heard that the first day of the exams went off quickly and smoothly. The exams started on October 21 and will end on November 28, 2024.

During the exam period, it is planned to write 200 questions. Six questions were written on the first day of Monday.

On Tuesday, 15 more articles were written on Computer Application Technology (Practical) and Non-Official Languages. Wednesday’s papers are Today Business Studies and Information Technology.

At its preliminary exam preparation briefing last month, the committee heard that 727 121 full-time candidates and 155 215 part-time candidates are registered for this year’s NSC exams.

A total of 6,334 government schools and 575 autonomous centers function as examination centres.

The seventh cohort of students must sit the South African Sign Language Home Language (SASL HL) exams. A total of 210 candidates for the SASL HL exams come from 23 schools in nine provinces, compared to 134 candidates in 2023.

marking

The committee previously heard that more than 55,000 markers have been named. Committee members expressed concerns about reports of a shortage of markers for certain subjects.

The DBE said there is a shortage of history, English (HL) and Afrikaans (HL and FAL).

To overcome this problem, some PEDs have adopted a staggered marking approach so that paper 3 of languages ​​is scored in the first session.

Other PEDs have embarked on a second recruitment drive and some PEDs have extended the number of marking days. The committee assured that the shortage of markers will not compromise the quality of marking.

In this regard, Umalusi said he has concluded the audit of the appointed markers to verify that their appointments align with the established criteria, except for four provinces – North West, Limpopo, Free State and Northern Cape – which will be finalised. on October 30, 2024.

Umalusi indicated that he is satisfied with the continuous improvement of security measures, especially the speedy verification of people involved in the handling of live question papers.

To mitigate the risk identified in the partially approved storage points, with specific reference to the DBE, the department will use concessions from the heads of provincial departments to grant the authorization, and Umalusi will conduct a sample of some of these facilities from ‘storage for tracking purposes.

Umalusi said during the verification of marked scripts, he will monitor how the PEDs are managing the marking process in subjects where shortage of markers has been identified as a risk.

In addition, Umalusi will closely monitor the implementation of the staggered marking approach to ensure the credibility of the examinations.

Maimela wished the Class of 2024 every success as they continue with their exams. – SAnews.gov.za