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The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education today received a preliminary report from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training (Umalusi) regarding examination readiness for the upcoming National Senior Certificate (NSC).

The DBE told the committee that 727 121 full-time candidates and 155 215 part-time candidates are registered for the examinations, scheduled to commence on 28 October 2024, with Grade 12 learners writing English.

Committee Chairperson, Ms Joy Maimela, said, “We understand that because this is a preliminary report, the final stamp of approval for readiness has yet to be issued. However, both the DBE and Umalusi indicated acceptable progress with the preparations to the system and getting learners ready for the upcoming matric examinations.”

The committee heard that Umalusi has approved 162 question papers for the 2024 October/November examinations and is handing them over to Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) for printing in three consignments. All quality assurance processes relating to question papers have been completed.

Question papers have been adapted for learners who experience barriers to learning, including Deaf, Braille and other needs. The DBE procured question papers for non-official languages and other special subjects from the Independent Examinations Board, and these are ready for release to the PEDs for printing.

The committee further heard that this is the seventh cohort to sit for South African Sign Language Home Language (SASL HL) examinations. A total of 23 schools in nine provinces have candidates for the 2024 examination, and 210 candidates have been registered for SASL HL, compared to 134 candidates in 2023.

The DBE has conducted a final audit of all sites where question papers are printed, packed and stored. The DBE said it had provided detailed printing guidelines to the PEDs for each question paper. PEDs use the standard operating procedures to ensure the secure and accurate packing of question papers and that the PEDs and the DBE audit all storage points.  A total of 6334 public schools and 575 independent centres will double as exam centres.

The committee heard that more than 55 000 markers have been appointed. Regarding irregularities, the committee was informed that there has been an improvement in most provinces in the management of irregularities. The detection, investigation and hosting of hearings have improved, and most provinces use dedicated officials to manage irregularities detected during marking.

The DBE indicated that there has been greater advocacy to encourage integrity by learners, teachers and principals, including programmes that focus on examination readiness. The Minister is expected to release the national results on 15 January 2025.

The committee highlighted concerns regarding the number of learners in Grade 10 in 2022, which was about 1.1 million learners compared to the registered candidates for the NSC that are now the class of 2024. “We are taking to exams 827 000. Where are the other learners?” asked Ms Maimela.

She said, “We commend the learner support programmes introduced by the DBE, like Saturday schools and Winter and Spring schools. We understand that the curriculum is broad and that the learning time per day is not sufficient.

We commend the efforts of DBE. This is a preliminary report, and we look forward to the briefing next month on the final readiness.

Several committee members also raised concerns regarding Minister of Basic Education Ms Siviwe Gwarube’s absence from Friday's event, which saw President Cyril Ramaphosa sign the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (BELA) into law. “This is extremely concerning. When people are in the executive, we don’t see parties. We see ministers for all the people of South Africa,” said the Chairperson.

The committee resolved to discuss the matter with the minister at a meeting next month.

Issued by the Parliamentary Communication Services of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, Joy Maimela