Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education on Monday said there was no need to panic about load shedding because it would not affect the writing of the matric exams as most of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) papers had already been printed.
The department said it was all systems go for English Paper One on Wednesday, with 183 808 candidates in the province sitting for the exam at 1 763 centres.
A total of 112 papers would be written in 61 subjects by matric pupils from 1700 public schools and 63 independent schools.
While the department was confident that load shedding would not affect the exams, teacher unions were concerned that the power cuts would affect pupils’ study schedules and their safety, particularly for pupils studying in groups at schools at night.
Education spokesperson Muzi Mahlambi said although load shedding had come as a surprise to everyone, there was a schedule to print exam papers well in advance.
“We don’t see any disruption during the writing of the exams. Most papers have already been printed in our centres in Durban. We have arranged generators as backup.”
He said providing each school with a generator was not possible.
“It’s a relief that since most papers are written manually, load shedding will not affect the exams as classrooms have sufficient lighting during the day. We urge pupils to focus and not to panic,” said Mahlambi.
He said load shedding may have an impact on pupils who would be forced to put their revision exercises on hold during power cuts. Mahlambi urged pupils to study during the day when it was light.
Nomarashiya Caluza, the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union provincial secretary, said the issue of load shedding was beyond the department and called for the government to sort it out with Eskom as soon as possible.
“It’s going to be unsafe for pupils walking home in the evening in the dark. Some will be forced to cancel evening study groups, and pupils studying at home and preparing in the evenings where there will be load shedding will suffer,”said Caluza.
Thirona Moodley, spokesperson for the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa, said load shedding had come after pupils had already compiled their study schedules. “It’s going to cause disruptions to their study schedules and it will have an impact on the results. Candlelight is not the best condition to study under,” said Moodley.
She said even if load shedding happened during the day, in an overcrowded classroom, or on a cloudy day, lighting could be insufficient.