DURBAN - KWAZULU-NATAL Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu said a comprehensive plan had been put in place to manage all matric exam risks and the department had a WhatsApp number to report any irregularities.
Last year, in national incidents, both maths paper 2 and physical science paper 2 were leaked.
Mshengu said KZN had been beset by challenges this year, as apart from the Covid-19 pandemic, several schools were damaged and vandalised during the looting and unrest in July.
“As if the difficulties visited on us by Covid-19 were not enough, the civil unrest we experienced as a country also did not help the situation, but despite all that, we are here today to report that the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education is ready for the 2021 National Senior Certificate examinations.”
Mshengu said that this year’s National Senior Certificate exam had the largest number of exam candidates in six years. “KwaZulu-Natal will administer an exam for 201 107 fulltime and part-time candidates, which is the largest in six years.”
There are:
- 178 262 full-time candidates
- 22 845 part-time candidates
- 1 702 full-time writing centres 75 part-time writing centres.
- 6 704 exam rooms
- 6 022 invigilators
- 102 distribution points
Mshengu added that invigilators of the National Senior Certificate exam were given proper training on the standard operating procedure to be applied during the Covid-19 pandemic, while exams were taking place.
“Our training of invigilators was also focused on the prevention of malpractices, loss of answer scripts and accountability for question papers.”
Mshengu said the department had a comprehensive plan to manage all exam risks.
“Our plan looks at measures to prevent a compromise of the printing job in case of load shedding, looks at our working relationship with the Joints Operations Committee, the delivery of exam material during days where there is inclement weather, and a possible escalation of exams malpractices.”
He said the department was committed to conducting exams that are without irregularities.
“You can now report any suspected irregularities in the NSC exams to the following WhatsApp number: 069 335 2818. We can assure you that the information provided in this regard will be handled with confidentiality.”
Thirona Moodley, provincial chief executive of the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) said the union is optimistic that the exams would proceed without incident.
“This is the second year that the NSC exams will be written under Covid-19 conditions and we are optimistic that the administration of the exams will be free of challenges. Naptosa has worked throughout the year with the department and we have been kept abreast of the preparedness of the department. We believe that all has been done to ensure a credible exam. The learners and teachers have worked consistently throughout the year despite the challenges of Covid19. Schools have embarked on holiday and weekend classes to ensure that maximum time has been put in and the learners are confident.”
Moodley added the union would monitor exam centres and marking centres to ensure all ran smoothly.
Sibusiso Malinga, vice-president of National Teachers Union (Natu) called for the Department of Education to ensure the safety of markers following the death of two markers in KZN while marking the Grade 12 exam papers for last year. It remains the responsibility of the employer to take care of markers, both exam and marking centres must adhere to Covid-19 protocols to avoid any form of disappointment.
“Natu will be on the ground monitoring all processes to ensure that the exams are executed with integrity.”
The National Department of Basic Education also confirmed they are ready for the 2021 National Senior Certificate exam and said despite challenges the 2021 exam will have the same high standards as previous years.
“The national exam system is ready to administer a credible public exam and it is geared to accommodate any change that may be warranted by the current environment.
“It should be noted that despite the abnormal context, the Class of 2021 will be subjected to the same high quality exam that previous cohorts were subjected to.”
THE MERCURY