Cape Town – The Western Cape education department (WCED) has prepared for various scenarios, including power failures, as the 2015 national senior certificate (NSC) examinations in the province get underway on Monday.
Altogether 8806 Western Cape candidates will begin to write the exams on Monday, starting with computer applications technology. Of these, 8619 are full-time candidates and 187 are part-time candidates, Western Cape education MEC Debbie Schafer said on Sunday.
On Tuesday, 883 full-time and 10 part-time NSC candidates would write the information technology exam.
“The preparation for the CAT and IT examination is quite complex given that we have to prepare for a wide range of scenarios in order to avoid any disruption to the exams. Such eventualities could include adverse weather conditions causing power failures,” she said.
To avoid any planned power disruptions, the WCED had engaged both Eskom and the relevant municipalities regarding the dates and times of the 2015 computer applications technology and information technology exams.
Officials of the WCED had visited exam venues before the exam to ensure that all networks and stand-alone workstations had been properly set up and that all relevant instructional procedures had been adhered to.
“If a power failure does occur during the examination, the centre manager must immediately inform the local authorities and also ascertain from them, if possible, how long the power failure is likely to last,” Schafer said.
The WCED should also be immediately informed of the power failure. Candidates should then remain in the computer room until the power supply was restored.
“Candidates may not communicate with one another while waiting for the power supply to be restored. The time lost during the power failure must be allowed as additional examination time.
“If, after two hours, the power supply has not been restored, the examination must be re-scheduled in consultation with the WCED’s directorate of examination administration,” she said.
The work completed by the candidates should be handed in and submitted to the WCED, together with all the relevant documents.
In the event of an exam being cancelled because of a power failure, candidates should do the back-up paper on a date set by the national basic education department.
In the event of computer breakdowns during the exam, candidates should be immediately moved to back-up equipment, and the appropriate additional time would be provided to the candidates.
“I would like to thank all our staff in the directorate for curriculum development for ensuring that they are well prepared for the examinations ahead.
“This is to ensure that every candidate has the same fair and equal opportunities to write and that the integrity of the examinations is secured. I wish all candidates that are writing these examinations the very best of luck,” Schafer said.
African News Agency
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