KZN MEC for Education Mbali Frazer and KZN Chief Director for Education Dr Raymond Penniston addressing the media about the plan that they have in place for the matric 2022 exams. Picture: Tumi Pakkies African News Agency (ANA)
Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education announced its state of readiness for the 2022 National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, which are set to begin on October 31.
A total of 198 866 full- and part-time candidates will sit the NSC exams, with 6 022 invigilators to manage the examinations at 1 780 centres.
The department said the distribution of exam material would be done through 13 nodal points and 103 distribution and collection centres.
It stated that 120 question papers totalling 34 million pages would be printed in the province and that there would be 28 morning and 27 afternoon sessions in the exams.
Speaking at a media briefing at Inanda Seminary on Tuesday, Education MEC Mbali Frazer said the department developed an academic improvement plan to ensue the class of 2022 was ready for the end of the exams.
Frazer said KZN’s aim and target was to ensure that all candidates who sit for final exam pass, thereby obtaining 100% performance as a province. However, Frazer added that due to other factors which sometimes make it difficult for pupils, the department was hopeful not to obtain less than 80% to improve from the 2021 results.
“The objectives were in the main, to improve pass percentage from 76.8% to a maximum of 100% or a minimum of 80%. Other objectives included increasing the number of schools that obtain 100% pass rate, improve bachelor passes by 5%, to improve passes in mathematics, sciences and other technical subjects. We also want to improve the quality and quantity of passes in home languages and to increase the percentage of distinctions in each of the NSC subjects,” said Frazer.
She added that driven by the target for this year, the province planned accountability sessions for 64 schools from 11 districts which obtained 40% and below last year.
National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa) CEO Thirona Moodley said the union was confident that all systems were fired up and ready, adding that the union would monitor the exams by visiting centres and reporting any challenges to the department for intervention.
Moodley said the teachers were confident that they have done their best for the pupils to be ready to write one of the most important exams.
“Despite the floods in April causing disruptions to some schools, it was business as usual in most schools. This cohort of learners entered the FET phase in 2020 and had to endure two years of learning in a historic pandemic. Teachers and learners had to make up for lost learning time and this they did. A pass of 80% is possible and learners and parents must now take the baton from the teachers and sprint to the finish,” she said.
Responding to the question on load shedding challenges, at th briefing, the national chief director of Examinations and Assessment, Dr Raymond Penniston, said on Monday they appealed to Eskom to exempt the school from a blackout for two days.
Penniston said this was important as some pupils wrote computer applications technology (CAT) exams, while information technology exams were written on Tuesday.
Penniston said the power utility told them that they cannot do that and that if they did not do load shedding for two days, the country would be in big trouble.
“We did write and we did not experience a lot of challenges. Load shedding is something that is beyond our control as a department, but we do have schools that have generators ready so that the pupils can be able to study,” said Penniston.
Meanwhile, KZN DA education spokesperson Imran Keeka said that Eskom would not be able to safeguard the exam times from load shedding.
He said from past experience that there were vague protocols to both allow for a smooth schedule of these exams as well as to monitor them.
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