Countdown for matric results

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Pretoria - The wait is almost over for the Class of 2016 as Matric learners will tomorrow find out their fate as the National Senior Certificate Examination (NSC) results are set to be released.

This evening, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga will announce the release of matric results in Midrand, near Johannesburg.

The Department of Basic Education said the Class of 2016 can access their results in various newspapers on Thursday, using only Exam Numbers.

The department has urged candidates to obtain their results at their schools or exam centre where they wrote their examination.

A total of 677 141 full time and 150 183 part-time candidates sat for the final examinations last year, which showed an increase of 9 216 from the number that sat in 2015.

Umalusi, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, has approved the release of the 2016 NSC examination results. It expressed satisfaction over the credibility of the 2016 NSC examinations as a whole.

“We are satisfied that the examinations were fair, valid and credible,” it said last week.

Umalusi said it studied all the evidence at hand on the management and conduct of the NSC examinations administered by various education administrations.

Learners implicated in leaked papers

However, the quality assurance body said it will not approve the release of the results of all learners implicated in a leak of Mathematics Paper 2 in two schools in Limpopo during the 2016 NSC examinations.

It said the leak does not go beyond 100 learners. Investigations by a Task Team, established by Minister Motshekga to identify the source of the security breach and the extent of the spread of the access to the question paper, confirmed the leak.

The investigation involved the Hawks, South African Police Service (SAPS) as well as private investigators.

Umalusi said investigative marking was employed to determine the extent to which learners may have benefited.

This year has seen a limited number of incidents involving group copying in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

“Further investigations are underway and the results from all the implicated centres will remain blocked. It is also worth noting that detection of these irregularities attests to a very functional and vigilant system.

“Irregularities occur in all examinations or assessments and the examination system must have mechanisms to manage irregularities, to avoid lapses in examination credibility.”

However, Umalusi said whether an irregularity becomes a threat to the system depends on the nature and extent of the irregularity.

Call for support to learners

The Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster has also urged parents to monitor their children’s behaviour and give them the necessary support when the results are released.

Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini said learners who receive unfavourable matric results go through a difficult time which requires immediate intervention and support.

“As we look forward to the NSC results, we also need to consider the plight of those who are not going to meet all the minimum pass requirements.

“To minimise depression, trauma and possible suicide incidents amongst Grade 12 learners, we call upon parents and caregivers to look for changes in the behaviour of their children, to give them support and encourage them to go back to school,” she said.

Second Chance Matric Support Programme

Last year, government launched the Second Chance Matric Support Programme which is a learner retention programme. It provides support for candidates writing the supplementary examinations and the modularised NSC writing option in February, March and June 2017.

Through such second chance programmes, young South Africans will be integrated back into the education system to ensure they receive a second chance at being adequately qualified before entering the job market.

“Education is the cornerstone of youth employment, and ensuring that young people are educated and skilled is of prime concern for the state and society in general,” said Minister Dlamini. - SAnews.gov.za