Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube assured the National Assembly that her department has implemented all necessary measures to ensure that the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams proceed without interruption.
The final matric exams began on Monday, 21 October 2024.
A total of 732,448 full-time and 136,195 part-time candidates are registered to write the 2024 NSC examinations, marking an increase of 8,400 from the previous year.
The exams, held at over 6,900 centres nationwide, are scheduled to run from October 21 until the final week of November. The minister reported that the first day of exams went smoothly, with over 200 papers scheduled to be written over the next 28 days.
On the first day, more than 800,000 learners – the Class of 2024 – sat for their first exam across all provinces. This is a significant event, as it places considerable pressure on the system with all Grade 12 learners writing simultaneously across the country.
VIEW THE FULL 2024 OCT/NOV MATRIC TIMETABLE HERE
However, the 2024 NSC exams have not been without incident. Power outages disrupted a Computer Applications Technology (CAT) exam in Gqebera.
The Basic Education Committee expressed concern over potential disruptions from storms, but the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has contingency plans in place. Alternate exam papers, already prepared and approved by Umalusi, will be used if necessary.
Minister Gwarube assured the committee that no learner will be disadvantaged. She explained that for every exam, several alternative papers are prepared and approved to address such situations.
The learners will not be disadvantaged regardless of the solutions the province implements. It’s all systems go for the rest of the exams
Committee Chairperson Joy Maimela expressed confidence in the DBE’s contingency measures but urged both the DBE and provincial departments to remain vigilant against further weather-related disruptions to support learners.
Concerns were also raised about a shortage of exam markers in History, English, and Afrikaans.
VIEW THE FULL 2024 OCT/NOV MATRIC TIMETABLE HERE
To address this, the DBE has introduced staggered marking and continues to recruit additional markers. Umalusi is auditing the markers to ensure compliance with standards and has nearly completed this process in four provinces.
Some Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) have launched a second recruitment drive, and a few have extended the marking period. The committee was assured that these efforts would prevent the marker shortage from affecting the quality of marking.
