Pretoria - Western Cape Education MEC Donald Grant on Thursday sent a message of support as over 44 000 young people from the Western Cape received their individual National Senior Certificate (NSC) results.
"Given the quality of results we received yesterday, I am sure there will be many pleased candidates.
"For those candidates that did not receive their desired results, there are other options available to them," said Grant.
The province recorded an 82.8% pass rate, as announced during the official release of the results by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Wednesday.
Grant said today, however, will be a celebration for many candidates, schools and educators.
One such school will be Groenvlei Secondary in Hanover Park, which has substantially increased its results from 65.7% in 2011 to 90.4% in 2012, almost doubling the number of passes from 65 to 104.
Another school that has done particularly well, especially in terms of the number of passes, is Sinethemba Secondary in Phillipi.
The school had in the past been classified as an underperforming school, but with hard work and determination, the school has significantly and steadily improved their results over the last four years. In 2009, it had achieved a pass rate of 46.4%, 52.7% in 2010, 78% in 2011 and now 86.1% in 2012. They achieved 199 passes.
On the matter of former underperforming schools, Grant was pleased to announce that they have managed to reduce the number of these schools from 30 in 2011 to 26 in 2012.
"One school that improved their results is Iingcinga Zethu Sec in Witzenberg. The school improved its pass rate from 51.2% in 2011 to 73% in 2012. Another school, Rosendaal Secondary in Delft, went from 50.5% to 83.1%," he noted.
" ... We are pleased with our results. This year's NSC results have confirmed that the system is qualitatively getting better and I believe that further improvements can and will be achieved in the years to come.
"I acknowledge that there is still much to be done to improve education in this province and we will continue to look at how we can best support our schools and learners and achieve far-reaching systemic change."
For those who have not achieved their desired results, Grant said candidates could qualify to write supplementary exams if:
* They failed a maximum of up to two subjects. They do not qualify if they failed more than two subjects.
* Candidates who missed an exam because they were sick or medically unfit at the time can apply to write the relevant supplementary exams if they provide a medical certificate and supporting documents.
"These candidates are only one or two subjects away from completing their NSC, and we strongly encourage all those candidates who qualify to write the supplementary examinations to register for these examinations," said Grant.
Applications for supplementary exams close on 21 January 2012. The supplementary examinations will be written in February and March.
Candidates can also apply to have their scripts re-marked for subjects they have failed or where they did not obtain the results they needed for specific purposes, for example, to obtain a bursary or satisfy university requirements.
Candidates must include a motivation with their application for a re-mark. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) will not consider applications without this motivation.
The department will also consider applications for re-marking of scripts if there is a difference of at least two levels of achievement between marks awarded by the school in the September examinations and the 2012 NSC results.
The fee for re-marking of scripts is R73 per subject.
The WCED will refund re-marking if the candidate passes the subject in which they initially failed, or is awarded marks that improve the result in a subject by at least one level of achievement. Candidates must therefore keep their receipts in case their results change.
The closing date for applications for re-marking is 21 January.
For any enquiries on the supplementary exams or re-marking process, candidates can visit the Client Service Centre of the WCED on the 2nd floor of the Grand Central Building in Lower Parliament Street, Cape Town.
They can also contact the exams helpline on 021 4672300 on weekdays between 08h00 and 16h00 on examination related issues until 31 January 2012.
Application forms for re-marking can be requested from the following email addresses: Nompumelelo.Kanase@westerncape.gov.za; Mercia.Buys@westerncape.gov.za and Steve.Valentyne@westerncape.gov.za
"We also encourage candidates who failed to enroll in Grade 12 in 2013," urged Grant.
Candidates that need counselling and support can contact the toll free support number on 080045 46 47. - SAnews.gov.za
