Department concerned about impact of protests on matric exams

Basic Education Director-General Mathanzima Mweli says at least 400 pupils have been affected by service delivery protests in the first week of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Examinations.

Mweli briefed the media on Sunday after a briefing about the first stretch of these exams.

The class of 2022 is the biggest to sit for the national exams with more than 920 000 candidates at over 7 000 writing centres nationally.

Mweli says more than 50 learners in Gauteng couldn’t write their papers.

"In Etwatwa in Gauteng, 53 learners could not write the exams as there were gunshots fired in areas they were in. There were also disruptions in parts of the Northern Cape, even though writing eventually took place. The environment has not been conducive. In the case where learners are not able to write the examination, it means that they will rewrite the missed papers only in May/June next year. That is not fair on the learners who have already endured a lot as result of COVID-19, among other challenges".

He has further urged communities to ensure the protection of schools during these National Senior Certificate examinations.

"We are entering another week of the National Senior Examinations and we appeal to members of the public to support the learners, refrain from blockading roads and storming schools, but we also appeal to learners to stop bringing crib notes and cellphones into the examination centres.

"We want to make a special plea to the South African nation, to the South African public, to our communities, to broader civil society, to allow our young people to have access to exam centres to go and write their examinations because they've been preparing for this for 12 to 13 years".

Mweli also emphasized that no learner is allowed to be prevented from writing the exam on the grounds of pregnancy.

"We have also had to deal with reported cases where some schools denied learners the right to sit for the NSC exams because they are pregnant. The National Policy on the Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy states expressly that barring a learner from school on the grounds of pregnancy is discriminatory.

"A learner who is pregnant shall be allowed to sit for national examinations if her health condition permits. The school principal and staff in collaboration with parents orguardians shall take all reasonable steps to accommodate the learner’s learning, health and maternal needs during the examination period."

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