By More Matshediso
Pretoria – The Gauteng Department of Education says it is ready for the upcoming grade 12 final examinations, which start on 27 October.
The department on Wednesday said it has done everything possible to ensure that learners have been given the best possible chance to do well in these exams.
“As a province, we have high expectations for every learner to succeed,” the department said.
About 143 647 grade 12 learners across the province will write the 2014 National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
“This year we have registered a total of 101 265 full-time candidates, and 42 382 part-time candidates. These candidates will be writing their exams in 928 centres across all our 15 districts in Gauteng,” the department said.
It said 8 090 markers and 4 789 invigilators have been appointed to work in 11 marking centres across the province.
The department announced that it has established matric revision camps across the province in areas such as Magaliesburg, Hammanskraal and Vanderbijlpark to ensure that learners get ready for examinations.
“These camps will provide opportunities for intensified study and drill sessions aimed at increased content coverage, as well as intensified exam practice,” the department said.
The matric camps will also focus on two goals, including covering key topics that have not been sufficiently covered during the year and drilling learners on possible exam questions.
The camps have been divided into three categories, which are high risk learner camps, residential matric camps and walk-in camps.
“The high risk learners’ camp will be implemented across the province from the 6 - 10 October. 5 318 learners from all 15 districts will be bussed to 15 camps. These are learners who have been identified as performing below set standards by the department.
“From 13 - 24 October, we will accommodate 13 712 learners in 19 residential camps across all 15 districts,” the department said.
It said the walk-in camps in the Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni areas will accommodate 40 327 learners in 108 sites.
The department said matric revision camps have been running since the beginning of the year on Saturdays and school holidays to sustain the improved grade12 performance over the past years.
“As part of measures to support learners during this period, the department has a standing agreement with Child Line to assist learners who find themselves in stressful situations, as a result of pressure they might experience from these exams,” it said.
Learners can phone Child Line on 08000 55 555 for counselling assistance.
The department said exam results will be released on 6 January 2015 at schools, and will give “us a clear indication on how we are doing, as we aim to compete on an international scale especially in maths, science and technology”.
“We would like to wish all our grade 12 learners the best of luck and assure them that they have our full support. We are saying to them, when combining inspiration and hard work, the reward is always fulfilling,” the department said. - SAnews.gov.za
