It is all systems go for the national senior certificate (NSC) examinations, however load-shedding remains a huge concern for the department of basic education (DBE).
Spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the department was in discussions with the power utility on the impact of load-shedding. It would continue to raise its concerns even though it had not succeeded in keeping the lights on in the past.
“The DBE continues to liaise closely with Eskom, the security cluster, provincial education departments and other relevant stakeholders to manage the risks posed by load-shedding such as learners being unable to study at home and other security-related matters.
"… we are continuing to voice our concerns anyway just so they [Eskom] remain aware regarding the impact of power cuts on the work we do.”
There are 755,981 pupils who will sit for the matriculation final exams from October 31 to December 7.
Eskom spokesperson Sikhonathi Mantshantsha said the utility could not say what the load-shedding situation would be.
“Load-shedding is only implemented as the last resort when power stations have broken down… No-one can tell you when it cannot be implemented.”
In 2020, exams were marred by leaks when mathematics and physical science papers were shared on WhatsApp.
This raised concerns about the credibility of the matric results.
Mhlanga said as part of managing the security of question papers, examination centres were audited and categorised according to their risk profile and would be monitored accordingly during the examination.
“In addition, the DBE liaises closely with all nine provincial departments to identify any challenges or security risks in a timeous manner to ensure that no candidate is disadvantaged in any manner and to ensure the security of question papers.
"To ensure an irregularity-free examination, the DBE has stepped up its security across all points in the question paper chain, based on a continuous review of all examination processes,” he said.
He added that all pupils sitting for the NSC examinations and their parents would be made to sign a commitment agreement to maintain honesty and not to participate in irregularities during the writing of examination.
This agreement binds the pupils and parents to follow the rules relating to the examination.
Mhlanga said the department was optimistic about the number of pupils registered as there had been a gradual increase in the number of full-time enrolments in 2022, compared to the previous years.
“The number of full-time enrolments increased from 733,198 in 2021 to 755,981 in 2022. This is an increase of 22,783 candidates and this allays the concern that there would have been a significant dropout of learners post the pandemic. The number of part-time learners has also increased from 163,965 in 2021 to 167,479 in 2022.
"A total of 193 question papers will be administered at 6,912 examination centres," Mhlanga said.
Education expert Mary Metcalfe said she wasn’t expecting a big decline in the pass rate for the matric pupils of 2022 as they were less affected by Covid-19.
“What we learnt from the matric results from last year and the year before is that the decline in performance has not been as great as people anticipated and I think that is because of the enormous efforts by learners and schools.
“If that pattern continues, then we can expect that this year again you wouldn’t expect to see a great decline because this group of learners have been less affected than the previous two years because they had a full year of schooling.”
Using candles to study or phones with built-in torches has become a norm due to rolling blackouts.
As of Monday, Eskom is implementing stage 2 load-shedding after it was suspended on Saturday.
Kgashane Ramokgata from Dan Kutumela Secondary School in Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, said it has been a stressful year.
“There were some days when we did not have power and that made me anxious and worried because I fell behind in my study plan. I sometimes had to sleep early on those days and wake up earlier the following day to make up for lost time.
“I make sure that each day I study at least five topics a day. I study for 10 hours each day. I study each subject a maximum of 1h30m and give myself a break of 30 minutes in between each session of studying. But around 5pm if I feel tired of studying, I give myself time to sleep for an hour.
“This is the last paper which will determine my future. I feel if I do not do well, my dream of pursuing a career in health science is gone."
Amo Hlako from Rand Girls High School said she was anxious.
“I’m anxious because it is the final lap and if I don’t do well I’ll have to upgrade, which I know won’t happen. I even got more anxious when one of my tutors said ‘you are one month away from making your life or breaking your life’."
sibiyan@sowetan.co.za
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