The Department of Basic Education (DBE) said 717,000 full-time and 181,000 part-time candidates participated in the 2023 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams.
More than 1.7 million scripts from these learners will now undergo marking, moderation, and checking before candidates receive their matric results in January.
Here’s What Happens After 2023 Matric Exams Are Marked?
Marks Capture Completed
The DBE anticipates that all matric exam marks will be captured by 2023 December 2023.
More than 52,000 markers have been appointed to complete this important work and they will be operating across 184 marking centres. Marking of scripts is set to be completed by 20 December 2023.
While the marking process is in progress, the capture of marks will commence and will conclude on 23rd December 2023.
Marking is currently taking place at 190 marking centres across the country. Markers will have to adhere to specific criteria to ensure that the evaluation of matric exam papers and scripts is secure.
The 190 marking centres across the nine PEDs have been audited and the DBE can confirm that all the marking centres are ready for the marking process.
National Examinations Irregularities Committee (NEIC) Meeting
In the first week of January 2024, the National Examinations Irregularities Committee (NEIC) meeting will take place.
The NEIC supports the Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) to ensure that the credibility of the matric exams is maintained and also coordinates the handling of irregularities on a national level to ensure that a consistent approach is implemented in the handling of all irregularities.
The NEIC meeting is set to take place on 1/2 January 2023.
Umalusi Standardisation And Approval Of Results
Umalusi, the organisation tasked with maintaining examination standards explains that standardisation is used to mitigate the effect of factors other than the learners’ knowledge, abilities and aptitude on the learners’ performance.
The meeting brings together several stakeholders where marks and results are discussed.
The challenges experienced by learners and teachers will be taken into consideration along with other factors that may have impacted the grade 12 examination results. The information gathered in this meeting is carefully considered and where the stakeholders see fit, marks obtained by learners will be adjusted.
The Umalusi standardisation process will commence on 5 January 2024.
All processes are in place for the standardisation of the results by Umalusi which will take place on 5th January 2024 so that the Umalusi Approval meeting can take place on 12th January 2024 and the final release of the results on 19th January 2024.
Umalusi is set to announce the approval of the 2023 Matric exam results on 12 January 2024.
Ministerial Announcement
Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga will announce the 2023 matric results on Thursday, 18 January 2024. The ministerial announcement will not only reveal pass rates for different provinces but also detail the types of matric passes attained by learners.
The 2023 NSC examination results are scheduled to be released on 18 January 2024 by the Minister of Basic Education followed by the Provincial MECs and the release by schools to candidates on 19 January 2024.
Provincial Release Of Results
Matric learners will have to wait until Friday, 19 January 2024, to access their results.
These results will be released at the schools or examination centres where the candidates originally took their exams. Alternatively, learners can opt to register online to receive their matric results.
While Learners Wait For Matric Results
While encouraging the responsible celebration of post-exams, Minister Motshekga cautioned learners against disruptive behaviour at so-called pens-down parties.
They emphasised the need for support from parents, communities, and caregivers to ensure the safety and well-being of students during the celebratory period.
