Cape Town - With a week to go before the start of the matric final exams, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has appointed 1 463 invigilators at the 466 exams centres, to check whether candidates are adhering to the rules and regulations.
Education MEC Debbie Schäfer said this year 53395 full-time candidates and 9075 part-time candidates were registered for the examinations in the province.
Schäfer spoke out against cheating in the exams.
“Every year, I have cautioned candidates against cheating in these examinations. Cheating can result in serious consequences such as being banned from writing the National Senior Certificate (NSC) for up to three years.”
“There is always complete regret when candidates are found guilty.
“Their lives are essentially being placed on hold, in terms of further education opportunities, at a higher education level. It can also impact on job applications,” Schäfer said.
Countrywide, 790405 candidates will sit for this year’s NSC examination across 7416 examination centres.
These thousands of candidates will begin their NSC examination on October 23. Schäfer visited Trafalgar High School yesterday, where 150 candidates took part in a pledge signing ceremony that showed their commitment to complying with all rules and regulations relating to the NSC exams.
The agreement provides a detailed list of the key rules and regulations relating to the NSC examinations, as well as a list of irregularities that may occur during the writing of the examinations.
“All learners and their parents or guardians are also required to sign a Commitment Agreement prior to the commencement of the examinations,” Schäfer said.
Last year, the province had 17 candidates in 16 separate cases who had their results declared null and void in the NSC examinations.
“There were nine cases of candidates in possession of a cell phone or electronic device in the examination room and six cases where candidates were found to have crib notes.
“Two candidates in one other case were declared null and void for copying in the examination,” Schäfer said.
Yesterday, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, Umalusi, gave an assessment bodies the green-light to administer the 2019 matric exams.
The council said it conducted a thorough assessment of the readiness of the basic education system to manage and conduct the 2019 national examinations.
Chief executive of Umalusi, Dr Mafu Rakometsi said the council is generally satisfied that all assessment bodies are ready.
Rakometsi said public and independent assessment bodies have worked hard to ensure that their examination systems comply with Umalusi’s policy and directives regarding the management and conduct of examinations.
The National Assembly committee on basic education also expressed its support and appreciation for the work done thus far in relation to the examination readiness by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to administer the 2019 NSC examinations.
The committee received a briefing from the DBE, and said it has
confidence that the examination systems were ready to administer a successful examination.