Umalusi CEO, Mafu Rakometsi announced that 2022 was the last year learners living in neighbouring countries could write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams. This comes as the quality assurance body does not have jurisdiction in other countries.
Rakometsi explained the decision is based on legal advice received by the quality assurance body last year. This means that 2022 was the last year that the NSC was offered outside the borders of South Africa.
They believe questions about offering the NSC in other countries speak to South Africa’s constitution, sovereignty and the justification Umalusi has. They add that currently, laws don't allow Umalusi to be in other countries.
Rakometsi says if an NSC exam paper were to leak in a country outside South Africa, no one would be able to investigate irregularities. This could have unintended consequences and negatively impact learners writing the NSC exams in South Africa.
The NSC qualification serves as an indication that a learner is competent to be part of an academic programme at a tertiary education institution or enter the South African job market.
Rakometsi explained that the lack of jurisdiction outside South Africa could disadvantage learners who participated in the NSC exams within South Africa’s borders.
The unintended consequences of having the NSC outside the borders of South Africa is that those students in Eswatini and in the case of the IEB in Namibia, Mozambique and other jurisdictions are then able to compete for university spaces with our students in South Africa
It was also revealed that NATED programmes (N1–N3) will also be phased out in the neighbouring countries where they are offered.
