Ongoing load shedding remains a big concern, as learners in schools across the country prepare for 2022 end-of-the-year examinations.
As a result, the nation's quality control assurer for examinations, Umalusi has urged assessment bodies to take the appropriate precautions to prevent the ongoing load shedding from having an impact on the impending final exams.
uMalusi’s Biki Lepota said that, based on the findings of their recent audits that have been conducted on the participating assessment bodies, the quality assurance is well prepared to oversee the upcoming exams.
All the assessment bodies have been audited we have applied the framework that Umalusi uses to gauge the readiness of the assessment bodies to conduct and manage the examinations based on the findings we can safely say we are ready
However, despite this, the Lepota has also conceded that Umalusi is concerned about persistent power outages and water shortages in some parts of the country. These concerns remain, despite the contingency measures put in place to ensure that the problem is manageable .
The entity has been in discussions with assessment bodies advising them to begin discussions with Eskom and the Department of Energy for more solutions.
“We are confident that those discussions are ongoing, especially with regards to the writing of examinations which require electricity availability and those and subjects are subjects such as your Computer Application Technology as well as your Information Technology (I.T),” he added.
Meanwhile SADTU General Secretary, Mugwena Maluleke says that he does expect this to be an easy exam, as most learners have lost a lot of learning time during the peak of the pandemic.
He further stated that there needs to be more focus on the quality of teaching and learning when measuring the overall results upon completion of the exams.
