Despite the ongoing load shedding across the country, Class of 2021 is continuing with their National Senior Certificate (NSC) final examinations, which began on Wednesday, 27 October. Their first exam paper was English paper 1. Learners from Lakehaven Secondary School said they were well-prepared for the first paper and look forward to completing their final high school year. The learners said they have put in a lot of hard work throughout the year, with extra classes and some sacrificing their weekends and meeting their schoolmates for study groups.
Matric learner, Andronicus Kinsey, said he was well-prepared for the first paper as he has been burning the midnight oil throughout the year. “Our school has been offering extra classes and they have helped us a lot. I am looking forward to completing the exams. I have been receiving a lot of support from the school and people close to me,” said Kinsey.
South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) spokesperson, Nomusa Cembi, said they commend the Class of 2021 for doing their best to prepare for these exams by attending extra classes to compensate for the time lost due to disturbances caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
“Many had to work harder to cover the Grade 11 work which they could not complete in 2020. We also take our hats off to the educators who gave of their time and provided classes and support outside the normal working hours. We urge this class to make use of the opportunity and get themselves vaccinated. We also urge parents to give support to their children to be vaccinated. Educators and education support personnel bear witness to the fact that the vaccine does reduce the number of fatalities as we saw a drastic decrease in the numbers after they were vaccinated,” said Cembi.
Education MEC, Kwazi Mshengu, said in the province there are 178 262 full-time candidates, 22 845 part-time candidates, 1 702 full-time writing centres and 75 part-time writing centres. “The province has 6 704 examination rooms, 6 022 invigilators, 13 nodal points and 102 distributions points,” he said.
MEC Mshengu added that the department is ready for the final exams. “We are ready for these exams because of the interventions that we had put in place to ensure that despite the difficulties, our learners are well equipped and well prepared as they sit for these examinations. All our invigilators and monitors were given a training manual which focuses on management of examinations during the Covid-19 pandemic and the conduct and management of a credible examination in schools and districts. They were taken through the Standard Operating Procedure as applied during Covid-19. We want to thank labour, our teacher unions for working with us tirelessly in finding solutions in the everyday challenges that we face as a department,” he said. He also added that they would like to thank the department officials, especially the educators who are the ones who make things happen in the classroom.
“As we always say, our educators are our most important asset and without them, all our plans and strategies, no matter how good they are, can come to naught. To our learners we want to say this is your time, make the most of it. This is the time where it is required of you to focus and concentrate on the task at hand,” concluded the MEC.
