INLSA

Matric students writing their exams. Picture: Jason Boud

Matric final examinations come to an end on Thursday and results are expected on January 5 next year.

In KwaZulu-Natal, 150 386 registered matric candidates – 127 044 full time and 23 342 part time – sat for the exams.

Yesterday, Mbali Thusi, the education department’s spokeswoman, said everything had gone according to plan.

The department has appointed about 9 170 markers, 900 administrative assistants and 200 administrative officials who will undertake the checking process and submission of the mark sheets to the data section for capture. The province has 29 marking centres.

Administration staff will begin work tomorrow, while markers will report to the marking centres on Monday. Marking will begin on Tuesday and will end on December 15.

KZN education MEC, Senzo Mchunu, said all marking centres had sufficient secure marking rooms, with doors that locked.

Yesterday, 5 280 matric pupils wrote consumer studies and 2 719 wrote hospitality studies. Today, 320 pupils will write religion studies (paper two) in the morning, and another 113 will tackle a three-hour design paper in the afternoon.

Megan Wasmuth, 17, a Grade 12 pupil at Durban Girls’ High School, said she would be more at ease during the festive season if the results were released straight after the exams. She wrote her last exam earlier this week.

“The exams were not bad at all, but I feel nervous and hope I did well in all my subjects,” she said.

Samkelo Jili, 17, a Grade 12 pupil at Umlazi’s Menzi High School, said he was going to open a new chapter in his life.

“I am adamant that I have done well in the exams,” he said.

DA education spokesman, Wilmot James, said he would be closely monitoring the matric marking, capturing and standardisation process.

He said that 6.2 million exam scripts had to be marked by 35 000 markers in 127 marking centres across the country.

“The results are captured on a computerised database, standardised and then released early next year. (It is) a monumental exercise and there are inevitable risks that need to be properly managed,” he said.

James said the key risk areas were the security of the scripts, integrity of the marking, diligence in capturing marks and integrity of the standardisation of results.

“Examination scripts must be safely and securely transported from the 6 540 examination centres to the 127 marking centres.

“Competent markers must be tightly supervised at the marking centres. Capturers of data must have an eye for detail and there must be checks and balances to secure accuracy. The raw scores are sent to Umalusi for standardisation, a normal practice that must, however, follow norms and standards,” he said.

Applications for remarking of exam scripts close on January 28 for the results to be released on March 3.