Durban - The police and the army were on standby on Monday as 680 000 pupils – including 145 000 in KwaZulu-Natal – sat for the English language paper, marking the main start of the matric exams.
Last week, a few specialised papers, including technical drawing, were written.
While this starts the closing of the curtain on a 12-year school chapter for pupils, the exams are also the ultimate test for the government, whose ambitious Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (Caps), which replaced the much-criticised Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), is being tackled for the first time at matric finals.
Caps has been largely heralded by education stakeholders, but there have been some challenges, with some teachers troubled by the strict time criteria enforced by the new curriculum.
Department of Basic Education spokesman, Elijah Mhlanga, said yesterday that the only concern was with communities staging service delivery protests in some provinces, including North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Standby
Police were on standby to ensure that there was no trouble, but a negotiated settlement was in place to allow the pupils to write, he said.
“We don’t expect any flare-ups because the people understand the importance of this occasion.”
Mhlanga said the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), SAPS and the SANDF had partnered with the department to ensure there were no hiccups with the writing of the exams.
Prasa would ensure that trains were running smoothly and efficiently, and police and the army would be on standby.
SA Weather Service forecaster, Elizabeth Webster, said windy weather along the coast was expected today with a 30 percent chance of rainfall. She said there was no chance of floods, although showers were expected tomorrow.
Last year, heavy rain and swollen rivers in KZN made it impossible for some pupils to get to their schools to write their matric exams.
The Daily News spoke to some pupils before the exams and – uncharacteristically – there was little tension.
Nomfundo Gumede, a matric pupil at Adams College, near eManzimtoti, said she felt a heavy burden had been taken off her shoulders after a prayer at her boarding school on Thursday.
“Since we had the prayer, it feels like there’s less pressure and more belief. I am more relaxed. The pastor awoke the belief in us and told us we are all special and motivated us to do the best we can,” she said.
Nomfundo said her trial exam results –1A, 5Bs and 1C – were disappointing and vowed to work harder, setting herself a target of 5As.
She aims to study law or commerce at Wits or UKZN, and summed up her matric year as having been a lot of fun and hard work.
Sne Sithole, a matric pupil at Queensburgh Girls’ High School, said she had started preparing for her exams a while back.
She was happy with her trial exam results – 1A, 2Bs and 4Cs – and said the new curriculum was “doable”.
“I’m sure everything will go well, I’m studying according to the papers as they come, but it’s important to brush up on other subjects as you go,” she said.
Sne has applied to study psychology and IT at UKZN and the University of Free State.
Content
Mhlanga said pupils were now used to Caps because they had been doing it since Grade 10.
“The content is different and the way in which teachers are expected to teach is different – teachers must now engage more with the learners,” he said.
OBE had placed too much strain on teachers and did not challenge pupils, he said, adding the department would probably keep Caps for the next eight to 10 years.
He admitted mistakes had been made in the past, but said Caps would lead to a resurgence in quality education in South Africa.
The splitting of the national Education Department – separating basic (school) and tertiary education – allowed it to better focus on weaknesses within the system, Mhlanga said. He said constant research was being conducted to strengthen the education system, and weaknesses in the teaching were being investigated as well.
The grand plan, Mhlanga said, was for the department to implement specialised schooling in areas such as science and engineering, maritime, agriculture and commerce.
Daily News