Cape Town - Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer has come out in support of the change in the national matric exam timetable.
The 2021 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams initially scheduled to start on November 1 will now start on October 27. This is due to the municipal elections which are set to take place on November 1.
Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma announced the new date for the local government elections on Wednesday last week.
Following the announcement, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) had to consider making changes to the existing timetable. After consultation with relevant stakeholders, a decision was made to change the timetable.
The department said the papers, English (Home Language, First Additional Language and Second Additional Language), Paper 1 Business Studies and Non-Official Language Paper 1 would be written on October 27 and 28. The exams were supposed to have taken place on November 1 and 2.
“The changes were necessitated by the local government elections which will take place on November 1. Learners eligible to vote will now be able to cast their ballots,” the DBE said in a statement.
In reaction to the changes, Schäfer said the change in the election date inevitably impacted the start of the matric exams.
“We support the adjustment of the matric timetable. A change had to be made as many polling stations are located in schools. It obviously also affects people’s ability to vote.
“A number of options were considered and the least disruptive one was chosen taking the best interest of the learners into account.”
She called on residents to support learners as they enter the final stretch of their exams.
Matric learners over 18 years of age have started getting vaccinated across the province. Experts are anticipating that the country will be hit by a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections in early December.
President Cyril Ramaphosa appealed to South Africans to get vaccinated in an address to the nation on Sunday evening.
Weekend Argus