Pretoria – Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says more learners have passed the matric supplementary exams.
Motshekga on Monday said the number increased from 377 829 in 2012 to 392 178 this year, representing an increase of 14 349 candidates.
The minister said there were fewer candidates that enrolled for the 2013 National Senior Certificate supplementary exams, compared to 2012, as the matric pass rate had improved.
“The decrease in enrolment in 2013 is understandable, given the improved pass rate in 2012, which will justify a lower number of candidates seeking to write the supplementary examination,” Motshekga said.
She expressed concern at the number of candidates that enrolled for the examination and did not show up across all Provincial Education Departments (PEDs).
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of “no-shows”, with 8 531 candidates, followed by the Eastern Cape with 5 901.
“The 27 percent of candidates that registered but did not arrive to write the examination has serious implications in terms of costs incurred in the running of this examination,” she said.
The Supplementary 2013 question papers were set and moderated concurrently with the question papers for the November 2012 examinations, to ensure that these papers were of comparable standard, given that these two examinations were regarded as one sitting.
According to Motshekga, a total of 262 question papers were set by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for the November 2012 and Supplementary 2013 examinations, with 130 of these question papers set for the Supplementary Examination.
Motshekga said external moderators from Umalusi verified, evaluated and approved all question papers.
“The rigorous external moderation process ensured that the question papers were of high quality and of an appropriate standard,” she said, adding that all question papers were set within the secure environment of the DBE offices.
The exams commenced on 11 February 2013 and concluded on Tuesday, 19 March 2013.
The exams took place in 5 288 centres and there were 12 marking centres with 3 072 markers involved.
The marking process across provinces commenced on 20 March 2013 and was successfully concluded on 7 April 2013.
A total of 86 113 candidates enrolled for the NSC Supplementary Examination in February/March 2013 and 62 682 candidates finally wrote the examination.
Of the 62 682 candidates that wrote the supplementary examination, the larger number are candidates that wrote the 2012 November examination and are now retaking the examination to improve their results. – SAnews.gov.za
