Matric class of 2023 sign exam pledge
Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chilaone led a symbolic pledge signing ceremony at the Ponelopele Secondary School in Kaalfontein ahead of the matric final exam.
A total of 191,181 candidates are expected to sit for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) from 30 October until 5 December 2023.
There are over 1,000 accredited examination centres across the province. These include 738 public centres, 277 independent centres and another 93 activated for part-time and repeater candidates.
Sixteen new centres have been activated for the current exam cycle.
Chiloane led the ceremony at the school hall on Monday, where he encouraged pupils to adhere to the NSC code of conduct set out in the pledge that each matric pupil must sign before writing their exams.
WATCH: Ponelopele Secondary School grade 12 pupil Ofentse Matabane reads through the pledge that all matric pupils will sign ahead of the #MatricExams which are scheduled to start in less than a week (30 October) #MatricClassOf2023 pic.twitter.com/1yTrgFhUXk
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) October 23, 2023
The MEC told pupils that the province’s pass target for this year is 90% after achieving an 84.4% pass rate in 2022.
He also told the matriculants not to let their prelim results deter them from achieving improved marks in their finals.
“The prelims are not the end. It’s just to get a sense of where you are. So, the performance of the school is sitting at 82%. There’s 18% that didn’t pass the prelims, and it’s not good because we don’t teach our children to fail – we educate you to pass.
“So, there’s 18% that we must work on, and we can assure you we’re going to give you the full support to make sure you pull through.”
When briefing media on the department’s readiness to hold the exams, Chiloane said the national department and exam regulator Umalusi have given them the nod.
“GDE has been commended by both the DBE and Umalusi for the level of readiness, innovations implemented, and progress made regarding areas of concern raised ahead of the 2023 NSC examination.
“We are confident that we are ready to deliver and administer the 2023 NSC examination in a credible manner which is free of technical irregularities,” he said.
According to Chiloane, 14,065 markers have been appointed to work at 25 designated marking centres and will be working over two marking sessions (an early session from 18 to 26 November and the main session from 7 to 18 December 2023).
The accounting one and two, and math two papers will be marked using the e-marking system.
The final results are expected to be released on 18 January, while the official numbers for the province will be released the following day.
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